Come Back To Me
by Ayame4679
Summary: Five months ago Hiccup went out for a flight with Toothless and never returned. For five months Stoick has been frantically searching for his son and turned up empty-handed. When Berk's morale is at its lowest, Hiccup finally resurfaces. But the boy is a former shell of himself, no longer the same Viking everyone grew to love.
1. Frenetic Island

**(A/N: I'M SORRY, I got major writer's block for Just the Beginning and ended up writing this instead. I'll update JTB soon, but for now I guess this is the best alternative I can offer..)**

I don't know how long I'd been stuck in this place for, but it was definitely too long. To make things worse, I couldn't leave yet, not until the sun came up. Granted escaping from a hostile island in the bright of day wasn't the best idea, but the comforting dark of the night was already long past and I didn't want to spend on another day on this dirty heap of rock. Frenetic Island. I hadn't even known this place existed, and I wish I never did. These people made the Outcasts and Dagur look like little harmless children. I couldn't remember a week on this island where I wasn't beaten or left to starve for the night because I wouldn't cooperate. I guess the one thing this tribe had in common with the Outcasts was their desire for trained dragons, although this particular island wanted me to actually go capture and bring back said tamed dragons for them. Of course, I never did.

I straightened back up so I was leaning against one of the crumbing stone walls that encompassed my "room", peering at my surroundings for the millionth time. Every inch of this cell was ingrained in my mind, from the dusty forgotten spider webs woven in each high corner to the incoherent scrawls that were scratched haphazardly into the ground near where I was sitting. Those scribbles were the only indication that this cell had even been used by someone before me, and that wasn't any more comforting.

A few small rays of sunlight finally crept timidly through the bars of the small window near the ceiling, filling the room with a bit of warmth. As obscure as that was for a signal, that was my cue to leave. Out of habit, I got to my feet and leaned against the wall with my arms crossed, waiting for the familiar click of the door to the dungeon opening, bringing with it the guard that brought my breakfast.

The Frenetic I'd grown so used to seeing finally appeared in front of my cell, lazily opening the cell door and shoving in the small plate inside before slamming the door shut. His name was Fenrir, but that was all I could get out of him. He probably didn't think it was worth talking to me, so he settled with just glaring whenever I tried to make conversation.

"Morning, Fenrir. Have a good sleep?"

As expected, he gave me a dirty look before stomping off, clearly having better things to do with his time. Not that I minded – I was waiting till I was left alone again. But before I made my way to the cell door, I sneaked a glance at what my breakfast was today. Every day was the same slice of stale bread and dry strip of boar with a bit of metal-tasting water, so I don't know why I expected it to be different today. Maybe because I knew things were finally gonna change for me this morning.

I bent down not to eat the food, but to grab the rusty old fork that they always gave alongside my meal. Just looking at the decaying metal and coated grime on the utensil was enough for me to lose my appetite. Usually, I cast it aside as I dug into my meager portions of food, but today I gripped it tightly, eyeing it with a fierce determination.

This was what was getting me out of this cell.

Putting my chance of freedom in the hands of this dirty old fork was weird, but it was the only idea I had thought of in a while. Gripping the handle of the fork firmly, I placed my other hand on the opposite end, trying to break off one of the tines. Thankfully, time had taken its toll on the silverware as two tines finally broke off. I held onto the longer of the tines and discarded the rest onto the ground, making my way over towards the cell lock.

Now, I knew close to nothing about picking locks, but I built my fair share of them back when I worked with… Gobber. I wasn't sure whether to be surprised or worried that I had to search my memory to remember my mentor's name.

_Focus, Hiccup._

I shook my head, casting aside the old thoughts as I focused on just the lock. Silently thanking Thor for my small and thin stature, I stuck out the arm holding the broken fork tine through the narrow bars and inserted it clumsily into the lock opening, moving it around for a bit as I tried remembering when Gobber showed me how he easily opened locks with just a metal toothpick sized stick back when he was a lad. Fortunately, my instincts were good enough when I heard the metallic click as the door slightly nudged ajar.

Every part of me screamed to run and find Toothless, but I found myself pausing before I stepped outside. Where would I go once I left? Back home to Berk? Did they even want me back? It had been so long and no one had even come looking for me. Maybe I wasn't that worth it after all, even if I did make peace with the dragons.

But that didn't matter right now; I needed to get to my dragon. Without any further hesitation, I made a run for it, quietly navigating the dimly lit halls of the dungeon I'd grown so used to walking through over the past few weeks. I knew the guards were all busy getting breakfast, so I didn't worry about running into anyone. But reflexively, I occasionally scanned the area, my mind continuously imagining the possibility of a random guard suddenly jumping out at me. That would definitely spell out a painful punishment later on.

I'd passed Toothless' cage enough times to remember where they were keeping him, and sure enough, I was finally standing in the far corner of the building in front of a barred enclosure slightly bigger than me, squinting past the dark shadows to barely make out the Night Fury curled up in the corner. I bent down to grab at the lock, pausing when the small squeaking noise the lock made was followed by a low growling. Toothless' ears were perked up, his startling forest green eyes easily contrasted against the pitch black he was surrounded in.

"Toothless?"

My voice had the desired effect, Toothless immediately ceasing his growling and leaping up to make his way as close as he could to me through the bars. I wanted to laugh in relief, but that action felt so alien to me; my entire stay on this island was filled with only the most negative and darkest emotions, simple things like smiling or laughing nearly forgotten from my natural reflex. Toothless was whimpering excitedly, trying to lick me through the bars as I reached up and scratched him affectionately behind the ears.

"Don't worry, bud. I'm getting us both out of here right now." Toothless nodded, restlessly moving in a circle as I set to work on his lock. Picking it was easier this time around because I had a front view of it; within half the time it took to open mine, the lock finally clicked open. Without a second to waste, Toothless knocked open the door and tackled me to the ground, purring like crazy and licking me everywhere he could. I didn't expect any less – we hadn't seen each other in days – but we didn't have time for the warm reunion. I picked myself off the ground, rubbing at the old bruise on my elbow that I'd landed on when I hit in the ground before making my way towards the nearest exit with Toothless close behind.

I paused in front of the wooden door, releasing a breath that I didn't know I was holding. This was it. If this didn't work, I'm definitely gonna be a goner. This Frenetic Tribe didn't take well to captives trying to escape. Not that it didn't stop me from trying, but the last time I was caught breaking out of my cell… I shuddered at the memory.

Toothless nudged me worriedly, shaking me out of my reverie. We needed to leave now or else. Taking another deep breath, I glanced down towards Toothless uncertainly.

"Alright, when I open this door, we need to get off the ground as soon as possible. The guards shouldn't be back yet."

Toothless nodded in confirmation, tensing as I placed my hands against the splintered wood that stood between us and our escape. Before I could chicken out again, I pushed hard, feeling the door give way as bright light flooded the hallway we were standing in, a light morning breeze brushing over us in greeting. I couldn't take the time to appreciate any of it though, immediately stumbling onto the gravel pathway so Toothless could get outside, letting me hop onto the saddle.

I shut my eyes, trying to erase all of the terrible things that had happened here as Toothless crouched down and leapt off the ground.


	2. A Way Out

**`(A/N: Sorry for this piece of poo chapter, I'll try my best the make the next one better asdkafj.)**

Thor must have been feeling nice for him to let us escape the dungeon without any hassle. Or maybe he just felt bad and finally gave me a break. I made a mental note to thank him later as Toothless jumped off the ground, opening his wings and placing us into a hover as he slowly began arching upwards.

I felt Toothless lurch to the side, my grip on the saddle tightening as I instantly glanced over my shoulder, looking for the threat. To my confusion, there was no Frenetic in sight. Was Toothless injured? My eyes quickly scanned his tailfin, checking for anything that was ripped or broken, but everything was intact. Toothless leaned slightly right again, and understanding hit me as I was realized he was just getting used to using his wings again. He hadn't been able to fly for Gods know how long, his wings must be unused to expanding so suddenly.

Guilt shot through me as I bent down to place a hand on his head, letting him stabilize himself before increasing our altitude.

"I'm sorry, bud. It must have been terrible not flying for that long."

Toothless let out a reassuring whine, flexing his wings fully one more time before beginning to ascend towards the clouds we used to soar through every day before crashing here. I could feel the thrill of flying begin to itch its way back into my system as it always did, but being grounded for weeks made me even more restless. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I barely heard the faint whistling sound from behind me.

You know how I said Thor might have been feeling pitiful and showed me a way out?

I guess it didn't mean the way out would be perfect.

An arrow just barely nicked my left arm, leaving a clean cut across the upper area just below where my shoulder ended. I sucked in a breath, instinct taking over as my right hand clamped over the wound, trying to stem the bleeding. Toothless tensed and whipped around to roar at the attacker, who I realized was one of the patrol guards that strolled around the perimeter of the island for oncoming threats. Well lucky for them – the threat was from the inside this time.

The guard loaded another arrow as he called for his comrades, which finally had the urgency of the situation registering in my brain. I could feel Toothless getting ready to fire at the guard, but I used my free arm to tug at the saddle, trying to steer him away. The pulling only hurt the wound more, but I gritted my teeth and kept pulling firmly until Toothless paused, following my lead as he grumbled in irritation. The distant calls of other Frenetics rushing to join him sent a burst of panic running through me.

"We gotta go. Now."

Toothless grunted in confirmation and in one motion pulled sharply upwards as we rapidly approached the clouds. I heard another arrow fire, but from the corner of my eye I could tell it wasn't going to reach us.

In seconds, we were high above the ground, soaring through the pure white clouds I'd grown to love when I went flying. I closed my eyes, letting the cool wind brush past me briefly before opening them once more and eyeing the rapidly shrinking island below. From this high up, I could tell why I never saw it when I went flying; it was barely noticeable, especially when they were stationed so closely next to a large mass of sea stacks. Reminding myself to avoid this area, I turned my attention back to the bleeding gash on my arm. It wasn't bleeding that much anymore, but it sure still hurt a lot.

Well that's another scar to add to the list.

Toothless kept flying without my guidance, seemingly already having set course for an unknown location. I didn't question his instincts and kept the tail open, leaving him in control as I shut my eyes and focused on my breathing. I kept my hand over the wound, gripping it so tightly I was probably causing more harm than good.

"_Aw, does it hurt? Good, cause that's the point."_

My eyes snapped open as a long sigh escaped me. Great, I don't even have to be asleep anymore to get nightmares.

"_Just bring me the dragons and no one gets hurt. Is that so hard?"_

"_No dragon? No food."_

"_You don't want me getting angry, runt. I don't care which chief's son you are."_

"_We don't want your poor dragon getting injured either, do we?"_

Why these were all suddenly coming back was beyond my comprehension, but it was definitely unwelcome. The idea that I'd actually escaped off that island still wasn't registering. For a horrifying moment I was struck with the thought that I'm actually still stuck in my cell and just imagining all of this.

I couldn't be. The sound of the ocean, the crashing of the waves, these were too real to be a dream. I shook my head, clearing my vision as I fully took in where we were. Toothless had covered a bit of distance since I last zoned out, the sea stacks far behind us as we glided across open waters. My eyes fell upon two rock statues that were jutting out seemingly out of nowhere just ahead of us, a fire blazing inside each mouth. They looked achingly familiar… I squinted to examine them more closely as we flew past. I've seen these before – I'd always pass them when I flew back from my morning flights.

A sign that we were entering into Berkian waters.

_Oh no no no. _I went into hyper-alert, feebly tugging at the saddle with one arm to stop Toothless' flight path. He was taking me back. I wasn't ready to face them yet. They probably don't even want me back, otherwise they would've come to get me when I was back on Frenetic Island… right?

Toothless shrugged off my weak attempts at stopping him, continuing our rapid approach towards the village I'd spent all my life on.

Panic started to build up as we grew close enough that I could make out the villager's homes easily now. A familiar jolt ran through me as I recognized each individual house, but the one that stuck out the most was mine.

Being the chief's house, it was the largest of all the tiny homes that spanned across Berk. I knew that house inside out, yet from this perspective it looked so foreign. Maybe dad got rid of my room by now, already used to not needing to care for a son anymore. The thought hurt, but it wasn't a crazy thought in my mind.

It wasn't long before water blended into land as we passed over the forest I found Toothless in. Raven's Point. And the cove where I finally got to learn the truth about dragons.

I knew all of these places, but why did it feel like I was coming here for the first time?

The vibrant green treetops soon gave way to the wooden rooftops that I'd been used to seeing all the time. Toothless kept flying, and I grew confused as I noticed we weren't actually going towards my house like I had assumed.

"Toothless, where are we going?"

Of course, I didn't get a reply but even if he had given any indication of a response, it went unheard as a voice shot out from below.

"NIGHT FURY!"


	3. Home

**(A/N: So I wrote a draft of this, deleted it because I hated it, and then ended up redrafting it. I no longer hate it, but I'm still on the fence LOL **

**I'm more excited about writing the next chapter, so hopefully it'll turn out better :D)**

The sudden voice echoing through the village had us both tensing and whipping our heads towards the ground, searching for the source. My eyes landed on the approaching figure of an unfamiliar Viking, arms flailing wildly as he kept yelling "NIGHT FURY" over and over.

I cringed at the shrill tone of his voice; he sounded like he'd never seen a Night Fury before. Almost as if he was afraid.

A sense of dread fell over me as I was plagued with the possibility that Berk and dragons weren't able to coexist in the end and were back at war with each other. Was that why I didn't see any dragons around? But wouldn't they have shot us down by now if dragons were the enemy again?

I relaxed slightly when I noticed none of the incoming Vikings were reaching for their weapons as they piled onto the pathway. Toothless had stopped flying, settling for a steady hover above the growing crowd. Only when I sneaked a glance downwards over Toothless' shoulder did I start hearing gasps and not-so-quiet whispering.

"Is that Hiccup?"

"He's here! He's alive!"

"Get Stoick, now!"

"Someone go fetch the chief!"

Well they didn't sound bloodthirsty; Toothless must have reached the same conclusion because he started lowering towards the ground. The sea of Vikings immediately noticed the descent and parted until a large enough circle opened up for us. The murmurings drew to a minimum as we finally made contact with the ground.

I glanced around uncertainly at the numerous faces gawking at us, feeling extremely uncomfortable under their heated stares. The majority of them looked more horrified and worried than surprised; I didn't blame them, I probably looked terrible. Toothless wasn't growling, but he wasn't any relaxed either with all these unfamiliar faces staring at us as if they had never seen a boy riding a dragon.

And then suddenly, everyone spoke at once, unleashing a barrage of questions. They were all speaking over each other, so I couldn't even distinguish one question from another. I cringed away from the chaos, considering if I should just take off and be done with it. Too many people were yelling, and I hated it.

_He stood over me, yelling words I couldn't hear as I glared back. I was too focused on not making sure I wasn't shaking as he stepped closer, his murderous gaze blazing with unrestrained anger. I just let him keep shouting threats and insults, because no matter what he said I still wasn't going to give him any dragons._

One Viking suddenly stepped forward, reaching a hand towards my injured arm. I tensed, reflexively recoiling from the approaching hand. The Viking froze, his expression one of confusion, but I just shook my head. Explaining right now wouldn't have helped anyone.

Toothless growled, so quietly only I could've heard it. I reached down to calm him down when another louder voice startled me. It surprised the Vikings too, because they all jumped a foot in the air and froze, the endless stream of questions coming to a halt.

"Everyone, out of the way!"

My heart nearly stopped at the booming voice. There was only one person who could speak with such authority and confidence.

Stoick finally pushed through the throng, stumbling into the open clearing just in front of me. The instant his eyes made contact with mine, he visibly stiffened, mouth agape. My expression probably mirrored his; I could easily recognize him, but he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Even from here I could point out the dark bags under his eyes and the tired way he held himself. Part of me wondered if I had something to do with it, but I shooed that thought aside when the silence became too unbearable.

I coughed awkwardly, unsure of what I should say to him. An explanation? An apology?

"Um… hi, dad."

Gods I'm terrible at this.

Nonetheless, my words seemed to shake my dad out of whatever trance he was in because almost instantly he was directly at my side. Before I could even flinch away in surprise, his arms were wrapped around me, encasing me in what was probably the strongest hug he'd ever given me.

I bit back a cry at the overbearing pressure against my wound, my heart pounding as I let him continue to hug me for what seemed like an eternity. He rarely ever hugged me.

When he finally pulled away to stare at me again, I was shocked to see tears building up in his eyes. In all my years living with him, I had never seen him cry. Maybe I actually was dreaming.

"You're alive... I can't believe it. Oh Thor…" He breathed shakily, looking the happiest I'd ever seen him. I shifted nervously, eyes briefly darting back towards the silent mob surrounding us, all as speechless as I was, but for different reasons. Stoick began to follow my glance before his eyes landed on my hand gripping my no longer bleeding arm. His brows furrowed down in worry, pursing his lips as he finally took his hands off my shoulders and straightened up.

"Clear out, I need to get my son home. You can ask questions later."

Home. It still wasn't clicking that I actually have a house to live in now and not a cell. To my relief, the crowd mumbled in agreement and scattered, although I wasn't sure if I was up for answering questions later like he promised.

Without a second thought, Toothless began trotting down the beaten path towards our house, Stoick close behind. I could feel my dad's stare burning a hole through my back, obviously still having a bunch of questions left unanswered, but thankfully he let the silence fall over us as we reached the doorstep.

Standing in front of my house sent another fresh wave of unease coursing through me. I had braced myself for anything the village might have done when I arrived. I was expecting disappointment, annoyance, ignorance. That they had been glad that I was gone. But I wasn't ready for the way they so easily took me back in, and certainly I wasn't expecting to feel so... out of place.

Stoick gave me a quick look before he pushed the door open with a creak, revealing the all too familiar setting I'd grown up in for years. The fireplace, kitchen table, fur rug, wooden rafters… The entire room looked as if it had been left untouched since I left. To be honest, I never thought I'd come back here, and to finally be standing in front of it all was overwhelming.

It took me a moment to realize I had brought Toothless to a stop before he could enter through the doorway as I sat just staring blankly inside, the memories washing over me. I blinked once and relaxed my grip on the saddle, letting Toothless go inside as Stoick gently shut the door behind us.

I finally slid off of Toothless then, standing uncertainly in the middle of the room as I finally brought my hand down from my arm. The dried blood wasn't something I was unused to, but the way my dad's expression hardened when he eyed the blood told me he definitely wasn't accustomed to such a sight. I suddenly felt very self-conscious at how I probably looked, shuffling my feet and staring at the ground.

A hand abruptly rested on my good shoulder, and I flinched slightly, head whipping back up to stare into my dad's sad, sad eyes.

"I thought you were dead, son."

_"They probably all think you're dead, anyways."_

If I were him, I probably would've thought the same, but the words still sent guilt coursing through me. He's probably looked this sad ever since I disappeared. It was all my fault that I made him like this.

"I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to just… you know." I stammered out, feeling as if I owed him more than just one apology. Toothless probably felt I was in good hands, because he promptly made his way next to the fireplace and curled up to take a nap. I resisted the urge to follow him and curl up next to the Night Fury and fall into a deep sleep as well, the adrenaline finally starting to wear off. My thoughts were cut short as my dad spoke up again.

"Where were you?"

I'd been expecting that question, but I still found myself hesitating to answer. Not that I wanted to keep it a secret, but any memories of that place sent chills down my spine. I hated talking about it. But I had to.

"Frenetic Island."

His brows creased in confusion, obviously never having heard of such a place. He opened his mouth to ask another question, but closed it again, eyes drawn back towards the untreated gash on my arm.

"Before we talk, let me take care of that."

I nodded feebly and followed him towards the kitchen table, settling down on a stool as he rummaged through a cabinet, pulling out a jar, a cloth, and some gauze. He filled a small bowl with water and set everything on the table, finally standing in front of me once more. When he made no other effort to move, I stared at him questioningly, wondering if I had done something wrong.

"It might hurt a bit, but I need you to take your shirt off so I can tend to it."

I stiffened, already rejecting the idea in my head. There were too many other scars I didn't want him seeing.

"_Nothing like a good old whipping to get someone to listen, am I right?"_

I shook my head, biting my lip nervously as Stoick's expression turned firm and resolute. He clearly wasn't taking that for an answer.

"Hiccup, I'm your father. I don't see what there is to be embarrassed of. If you don't take it off, I'm doing it myself."

I sighed, knowing there was no way out of this. He'd find out sooner or later. As slowly as I possibly could, I began sliding my shirt off, not even pausing when the wound screamed angrily at the movement. I'd grown used to blocking out pain by now.

For a moment, Stoick's expression didn't change and I sat hoping that maybe he wouldn't see my back after all. But the sadness and anger that gleamed from his eyes told me he already did.

"Did they do that? The people on... Frenetic Island?" He asked, his voice a lot tighter than it usually was.

I nodded timidly, raising my injured arm for him to clean and tend to. He automatically began washing the wound with a damp cloth and I tried my best not to wince at the stinging. In the end, I failed and ended up flinching harshly when he accidentally pressed too hard against the wound. His somber expression flashed to one of worry, his hands suddenly moving away from my arm as if he'd burned me.

"I'm fine!" I assured him, voice strained as I tried to sound as casual as I could.

He still frowned with worry, clearly unconvinced. After a brief pause, he set the rag aside and opened the jar, the contents inside something I recognized as a healing salve. The rest of the process didn't take too long, the gauze quickly wrapped around my arm and secured so that the injury would heal. Sighing in relief, I began reaching for my shirt before he stopped me again, grabbing the shirt out of my reach. I stared at him, bewildered.

"I'll get you a new one." He replied quietly, holding up the ruined and bloodied shirt in one hand as he jogged upstairs.

I used my brief period of solitude to stare at every inch of the room, past memories coming up and filling in the pieces quicker than I could think. For some reason, it was painful remembering everything – all of it reminding me of what I had left behind for so long.

In a surprisingly quick amount of time, Stoick ran down the stairs, new shirt in hand. It was the exact same as my old one, just a lot cleaner. I nodded in gratitude and pulled it over my head, feeling comforted at the fresh fabric brushing against my skin compared to the matted and ripped cloth clinging to my skin that I had been wearing for weeks.

He eyed me quietly for a few seconds, staring as if he couldn't believe I was still in front of him. Almost impulsively, he reached out and pulled me into a far gentler and less bone-crushing hug. I tried not to, but I still found myself flinching at the sudden motion, completely stiff until he released me once more.

His eyes were misty again, and I was amazed when I realized that this is the second time in one day I saw my dad close to crying.

"I'm sorry, I just... can't believe you're here."

"It's okay…" I mumbled, unused to seeing him so emotional.

I felt my gaze drifting towards the stairs my dad had come down from, knowing my room was up there. Did I still have a room? He thought I was dead, after all. My attention snapped back towards my dad when he called my name.

The moment I met his eyes I knew what he was going to ask. The question I'd been dreading.

"What happened that day?"


	4. Remembering

**(A/N: So, my next few updates are probably going to be haphazard at best due to college applications and a volunteer relief trip I'm attending. Honestly, every time I tell myself to start drafting my college app essays, I stare blankly at the screen for a minute and then open up Fanfiction xD But yeah, I gotta start that sooo I'll do my best to keep updating! I have this story planned out in my head but I'm having that annoying problem where I have trouble putting it into words. But I shall do my best! **

This was it. The conversation I'd been dreading ever since I watched my dad push his way through the restless crowd of Vikings I'd grown up around. The Vikings that used to despise my presence outside of the house, that referred to me as "Hiccup the Useless" behind my back, were now the Vikings that called me the savior of the village. I suddenly found myself preferring to be back outside, with them anxiously peering over each other's shoulders to make sure I was alive and well and yelling questions rather than reliving the past with my dad.

I heaved a sigh, staring hard at the precise green stiches that made up my shirt. I'd been trying to forget everything remotely related to Frenetic Island ever since Toothless and I miraculously made our escape, but he had to know.

So I told him.

* * *

Everything had been going as usual that day. I woke up with Toothless eagerly settled by my bed, nudging at my side anxiously as I stirred awake. The sun had barely pierced the horizon, but I was used to waking up this early to go flying by now. Rubbing the sleep away from my eyes, I hopped out of bed and followed Toothless outside.

The morning chill instantly met my still-warmed skin, but I found that I wasn't that cold. I was more excited to go flying than anything else. Without a second thought, I hopped onto Toothless in one fluid motion and we took to the familiar lightening skies.

We did the usual flying techniques we'd developed, from flying straight down towards the crashing ocean waves and pulling up at the last possible second to free-falling. It wasn't long before we neared the sea stacks that jutted menacingly through the ocean waters a few miles away from Berk. I smiled at the first time I'd truly encountered those rock formations, when I drew the courage to take Toothless out on our first actual test drive with the tailfin. Of course things didn't go perfectly, but the end result was better than I had expected.

"What do you say, bud?" I shouted over the roaring wind, positioning ourselves so that we were approaching the dangerous maze of sharp jagged rock. Toothless purred in agreement, flexing his wings as we prepared to weave between the weathered down stones.

At such a fast speed, it was definitely a risk to try flying in between such narrow spaces, but this was a Night Fury. The only concern on my mind had been whether or not this was enough of a challenge for us. A couple of sharp turns and barrel rolls later, we had just one more small overhang we needed to fly under to complete the rocky obstacles.

With a grin, I pulled Toothless into one final steep dive, drawing so close to the surface that I could lean down and run my hand across the ice cold water. I sighed contently, letting Toothless pull back upwards as I scanned the clouds above us.

We were so relaxed we didn't even hear the bola come flying.

Of course, we couldn't do anything but tumble down haphazardly, tangled in a mess of ropes and stone. Toothless roared in alarm as I realized we were going to hit the water and – quite likely – drown should we fall in. Toothless was trying to turn around, wanting to grab me in his paws and shield me before we crashed into the waves but I had other plans. I tugged as hard as I could toward a small area of sand that rapidly came into my field of vision. Part of me was confused as to why there was an island so close to these sea stacks, but all rational questions fled my mind as the sand rapidly rose to meet us.

Our landing was anything but soft, but we were alive. Breathing heavily, I tried untangling myself from the ropes as Toothless struggled to get to his feet. But before I could make much progress, another hand roughly grabbed the back of my shirt, the side of a sword instantly under my neck. I froze, mind racing as I noticed more unrecognizable soldiers forming a semicircle in front of us. They weren't the usual large and buff Vikings I'd seen from other islands; they had a smaller and leaner frame, but definitely muscled and conditioned. None of them seemed to talk, or just didn't feel the need to speak.

Toothless growled threateningly; he was still immobilized by the bola, but that didn't mean his firepower was hindered in any way. The familiar whir of the Night Fury was ringing in my ears when a sudden blast exploded at the soldier's feet. The leaped backwards, cursing under their breaths as they glared murderously in my direction.

The sword pressed firmer against my throat, not enough to cut through, but enough to make me tense up again.

"Calm your beast down, or else." A rough voice growled uncomfortably close to my ear. I shut my eyes, a bit of panic starting to set in when I realized these people definitely weren't openly curious to the dragons like some other tribes were.

"Toothless, bud, stop." I managed out weakly.

Toothless whipped his forest green eyes in my direction, his expression confused and angered. His eyes narrowed menacingly at the sight of the weapon at my throat, his growl louder this time. I shook my head as best I could, relieved when Toothless made no further move to attack, settling for glaring at the soldier holding me back.

The sound of sand crunching underneath a new pair of boots had me looking up to where the soldiers were parting for a larger and more menacing looking Viking. His jet-black beard was the first thing that caught my eye, the hairs all unkempt and barely kept together. Scars lined his face, giving him an even more hostile impression than he already did. But what really creeped me out was the thing around his neck. All kinds of dragon teeth were strung together in some cruel impression of a necklace.

I watched his eyes dart between me and Toothless, his emotionless face slowly drawing into a grimacing smile.

"Well isn't this an interesting turn of events." He drawled, eyes flashing with malice.

* * *

"He called himself Erland the Merciless." I finished, drifting off as I finally sneaked a glance at how my dad was taking all this. His expression had gone cold, not even offering any words before he suddenly stood up from the chair he had pulled up to sit in while I explained what happened.

I startled backwards, nearly slipping off the stool I was perched on, slightly nervous at the angered look etched on his face.

"Where was this island again?"

My eyes widened as I realized his intentions and I immediately hopped off the stool and stood in front of him.

"No, you're not going there." I countered, sounding as firm as I could.

He turned the angered expression towards me, clearly appalled at my comment. To my relief, he didn't shove me aside like he'd done in the past when I tried stopping him.

"You expect me to just leave them be after what they've done?" His voice was trembling with uncontrolled rage, but I didn't let that deter me.

I crossed my arms, staring at him sternly. "It's too dangerous. It's nearly impossible to navigate through those sea stacks with ships. Even if you did sail around them, they'd shoot you down before you got close enough to land."

"We have dragons." He shot back defiantly, still unfazed.

"Yeah, the teens and I are the only ones who can actually ride them well. And you don't even have a dragon." I still wasn't sure why my dad didn't decide to get a dragon of his own. Something about him needing to tend to his chieftain duties on the ground.

He hadn't spoken in a while, which again had me hoping I'd maybe convinced him. But that hope was easily crushed when his expression hardened again.

"Say what you will, but we're going to that island. When we ready our ships, the teens will fly out with their dragons and we'll follow by sea. I don't care how difficult it is, they're going to learn they messed with the wrong island."

Of course, I still couldn't win arguments with my dad. I let out a long breath, running a hand through my hair in frustration. It wasn't that I was afraid we'd lose against them, because I was fairly confident our dragons and our catapults could run down that small island. That is, if the dragons didn't get shot down by their bolas.

No, there was something about them that warned me to stay away.

"Wait a month. We're not ready right now." I pleaded, and I knew I was right. Every time I had threatened them that my dad would find this place, they smiled broadly in response, almost as if they _wanted_ Berk to come storming onto their shores. And that thought unnerved me.

He peered down at me, obvious conflict running through his eyes. After a long moment, he sighed, slumping back into the chair.

I relaxed slightly, warily gazing at him to make sure he wouldn't go stomping off. He ran his hand across his face before he stared uncertainly at me, clearly wanting to ask something.

"What happened? After you landed on that island I mean."

* * *

"_Where did you get this dragon from, boy?" _

_Erland glared down at me on the ground, hands bound behind my back._

"_I found him on my island and I cared for it." I offered no further explanation, clenching my jaw and refusing to look him in the eye._

_With a growl, he grabbed the collar of my shirt and brought me to my feet. I finally turned to face him, hoping that I didn't look as frightened as I felt._

"_Don't think I don't know you who you are. I can already tell you're Stoick's little runt."_

_My defenses faltered for a moment, surprised that he knew who my dad even was. How had we never heard of them, but they know so much of us? He smirked, releasing my collar as I stumbled onto my feet, keeping myself from falling back over._

"_How did you-" I began to demand before he interrupted me._

"_It's a small world, boy. I know many things about many islands."_

_He took a couple steps towards where they had chained and muzzled Toothless against a boulder. Toothless was growling angrily, pulling futilely at the restraints as Erland stopped a few feet away from him, unsheathing his sword._

_My heart nearly stopped at the sight._

_I took a step forward to stop him but a guard swiftly kicked at my legs from behind, bringing my painfully to my eyes. I couldn't help the tears beginning to build up as Erland casually fingered the blade before pointing it at my best friend._

"_Now tell me how to conquer dragons like you did and your dragon doesn't get hurt."_

* * *

"Hiccup?"

I jerked back into reality, wondering how long I must have been standing there without saying anything. Dad was on his feet, eyes shining with worry as he took a hesitant step in my direction.

Unconsciously, I took a step backwards in response and he paused, watching me sadly from where he stood. The words couldn't make their way out my mouth, so I settled for shaking my head, hoping he got the point.

And he did, nodding slowly once in response.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He whispered gently, and I knew I should thank him for it, but the words still weren't coming.

A faint voice from outside the house had us both whipping our heads towards the door. If I heard clearly, the voice had yelled "Chief!" I had no idea what that meant, but my dad just sighed and began walking towards the door, opening it halfway before turning to me questioningly.

"Do you… want to see the villagers yet?"

Definitely not.

I shook my head again, shuffling my feet awkwardly. He nodded in understanding before finally stepping outside and closing the door with a final thud.

And I was alone again. Well, there was Toothless, still sleeping like a rock by the fireplace. That island took a toll on both of us.

As if on cue, my eyes fell back onto the stairs. Whether my room was still there or not had been bugging me the whole time I'd been down here. After a moment's hesitation, I clambered up the stairs – quietly so I wouldn't wake Toothless – and made my way towards my bedroom.

The door was shut closed, a bit of dust on the door handle as if no one had touched in a while. Maybe they'd cleared it out the week I was gone, and then never stepped foot inside again. Or maybe, just maybe, they left things as they were.

Taking in a large breath, I pushed the door open, half expecting an empty and desolate room. But as the dust settled back onto the ground, I found myself releasing my breath as I gazed around at the comforts that made up my room.

My room.

It was as if no one dared to touch anything after I'd been gone, my fur blanket still as tousled and messed up as they were when I got out of bed to go flying. I stepped towards my desk, tracing a finger over the unfinished drawings and notes that lay scattered messily across the wooden surface.

Why did they keep everything as it was if they thought I was dead? To preserve my memory or something?

"_No one cares about runts, I promise you that."_

I shut my eyes, trying to get rid of that horribly metallic voice that's been plaguing my thoughts for days. I'm not there anymore, and he's not here.

* * *

"_Trying to leave, runt? But we've only just met!"_

_I cursed silently at how reckless I was, blatantly knocking out the new guard that was assigned to bring my food when he opened the gate. I hadn't accounted for the possibility that there were other guards down the hall who could see the whole thing happen. _

_Erland was called over and he was soon standing in front of the cell I was still stuck in, two guards holding me down on my knees so I wouldn't make any funny moves. _

"_And here I was, trying to give you a warm welcome. This is how you repay my kindness?"_

_I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to laugh. _

"_Don't mess with me, Erland. If this is your idea of a warm welcome, I'm extremely curious as to what your cold welcome could be."_

_The Frenetic chief eyed me amusedly, chuckling as he unclipped the whip he carried around on his belt. At that moment, I knew what was coming, but I didn't let my expression give anything away. _

"_I like your spirit, boy."_

_He snapped the whip once towards the ground, a sickening snap echoing off the musty walls. _

"_I'll enjoy breaking it."_

* * *

I jerked away from the desk, my breaths uneven. Gods, these were the worst. I shut my eyes, evening out my breathing before instantly setting course back downstairs. It was like every new memory came with its own nightmare.

Dad wasn't back yet, the sun starting to dip down as the sky's hue darkened to a light purple. Toothless, surprisingly, was still asleep. Without a second thought, I made my way towards the fireplace, crouching down on my knees next to the Night Fury. Hesitatingly, I bent down and tried to curl up next to his head, not wanting to disturb him too much.

But before I got too comfortable, I felt Toothless immediately shift and grab me with his paws, dragging me against his stomach. I stiffened for a second before relaxing, wondering how in Thor's name he knew I was there. A scaly wing enveloped us both, covering me in a darkness that I wasn't afraid of. I sighed, snuggling closer towards Toothless and reveling in the warmth that was spreading through me.

And with that, I fell asleep.


	5. Visiting the Forge

**(A/N: So on Monday I'm leaving for a volunteer relief trip that our school gifted program takes part in every year, and literally my mom plans a trip to Niagara Falls during my week away from home. Sigh. But it's alright, I've been looking forward to this relief trip all summer! :D **

**On another note, we had to play tennis in 98 degree weather today, which was horrendous. **

**Accomplishment of the day: I converted two of my other friends to the HTTYD dragon fandom MUAHAHA idk it made me really happy when they started obsessing about it too.**

**Am I rambling yet? Probably. Mostly because this chapter kinda sucks so I'm trying to distract you from it. Is it working? Probably not.)**

The clattering of metal on metal stirred me from the best sleep I've had in weeks. Stifling a yawn, I shifted, lifting Toothless' wing slightly to peer outside. Dad was shuffling around the kitchen, preparing what I assumed was breakfast. Toothless finally seemed to be coming around, letting out a drowsy moan as he flexed his wings, stretching like a big cat. The motion caught my dad's attention, where he found me sitting next to an enormous feline of a dragon doing his morning routine. He grinned, holding up a steaming plate.

"Breakfast?"

I didn't respond, still unsure if I was hungry as I got to my feet and shuffled over to the table. He placed the plate in front of me, which I finally deduced were just some eggs. He turned to grab a fork, taking my silence for agreement as he continued to talk.

"I was going to carry you to bed, but Toothless was like a rock. Couldn't get you out of his grip." He chuckled to himself, and I was almost about to laugh as well.

Almost, but I didn't.

He finally located a wooden fork and offered it towards me. His grin faltered slightly when I shook my head.

"I… don't think I'm that hungry."

To my horror, my stomach instantly responded with a loud grumble, protesting my statement. My dad rose an eyebrow towards me as I flushed.

Mumbling in thanks, I took the fork and tentatively poked at the eggs. I could feel a pair of eyes insistently staring at my head, so I suppressed a sigh and took a bite. Part of me worried my stomach wouldn't accept it due to the long periods of no food, but after that mouthful I found myself digging into the plate with renewed vigor. I didn't realize how hungry I'd actually been.

I watched my dad settle into a chair in front of me from the corner of me eye, not offering any words. Not that I would've been able to reply, what with me being too busy clearing off these eggs. The plate was cleaned in seconds, as I sat back and sighed.

I glanced up questioningly at how quiet my dad had been this entire time; he just seemed to be staring blankly. I was about to speak up when he blinked and focused back towards me.

"Gobber wanted to know if you were going to stop by the forge today."

Hearing my mentor's name hurt for some reason, like I didn't deserve to even call him my mentor anymore. Why? I had no idea.

"Oh, uh… The forge?" I repeated, unsure of what to respond with. Honestly, I really did want to go, to build and repair metal like we always did in the morning, but something stopped me from jumping at the chance.

Thankfully, my dad didn't press me further, simply waiting for me to gather my thoughts. I was distracted when Toothless suddenly rumbled happily, getting up and padding over towards me. He nudged my leg insistently, his green eyes sternly telling me to get some fresh air.

I gave in.

My dad had already left for the Great Hall to lead a meeting, but I found myself lingering behind as I gathered the courage to push through the door. Toothless didn't seem to understand my hesitation, as he impatiently waited for me to leave. He nuzzled my side reassuringly, a silent promise that I'd be fine.

I'm going to see Gobber. That's all. Just to see Gobber and help out.

Drawing in a breath, I pushed through the door, quietly stepping down the pathway with Toothless close by my side. It didn't take long for many of the villagers to notice my sudden appearance, but they didn't swarm me like I feared they would. Dad probably told them to keep their distance for now. Many called out my name and greeted me, and I waved back, lips pursed anxiously.

The trip to the forge couldn't have been longer. I kept my eyes glued to the dirt trail I was trudging on, amazed at how foreign I felt in my own village. Toothless didn't seem to mind, eagerly bounding around the familiar areas and greeting the villagers happily. I noticed the forge just ahead and my steps grew quicker, nearly barreling through the entrance. My vision had barely started to adapt to the darker setting of the room when he spoke.

"Nice of you to stop by, lad!"

Surprisingly, I felt a smile tugging at my lips, the sound of Gobber's voice weakening some of the solid defenses I constructed around myself. The emotion felt odd, but nice.

He looked exactly the same, give or take the extra soot coating his features. The sword he had been sharpening lay forgotten in his hands as he turned his full attention towards me, a large smile on his face.

I waved timidly. "Hey, Gobber."

"What are you standing around like that for? This sword isn't gonna sharpen itself!" The man chirped, handing me the unfinished weapon.

That was it. The reason why Gobber was the first to start breaking down my barriers. He didn't eye me with pity like the villagers did, or treat me like I was a fragile glass doll that would break at any moment like my dad did. No, Gobber – just like Toothless – treated me like I was normal. Which was all I wanted from anyone right now.

I gratefully took the dull blade and made my way towards the grinding wheel. I used to hate doing this when I was a kid, but now I couldn't find a better thing to do. Little sparks flew vibrantly when the sword made contact with the wheel.

* * *

_His sword gleamed menacingly against the bright sun, the blade too close to Toothless. Way too close for me to be calm. Toothless was a lot more tough than I was at the moment, the Night Fury staying completely still as it glared coldly at the Frenetic chief. _

"_Don't hurt him!" I yelled out desperately, tugging at the hands restraining me. _

"_Tell me how to control them and I won't." Erland replied easily, smirking at my terrified expression. _

_I was so tempted to. I wanted Toothless out of danger. But then I'd place Berk in harm's way. _

"_You hurt him, and you're never getting anything from me." I snapped, blinking back furious tears._

_Erland laughed amusedly, although the laugh didn't quite reach the angered look in his eyes. "I think you forget who's making the threats here." He hissed, the tip of the sword finally making contact with Toothless' side. It didn't pierce him, not yet. _

_I was definitely trying to get myself killed. But I couldn't think of anything else._

"_This isn't a threat. If you hurt my dragon, you might as well just kill me because I won't be of any use." Toothless' eyes flashed with annoyance at my words, obviously not appreciating me putting my life so recklessly on the line. But I didn't care. I wouldn't let Toothless get hurt because of me. _

_Erland considered my words for a moment, and to my relief, he lowered the sword. I could barely relax when he suddenly was in front of me, the sword pressing lightly against the side of my left arm, enough for a drop of blood to drip out. I tried not to flinch, but I knew the flash of pain had run across my face for a second. Erland smiled cruelly, his eyes two dark pools of malice. _

"_You're an interesting one. I hope you're ready to talk, because I don't think you'll be able to handle the consequences."_

* * *

I nearly dropped the sword, catching it at the last minute as it slipped off the grinding wheel. For a second, I hoped my mishap had gone unnoticed, but Gobber peered up from his work station, eyeing me questioningly. I shrugged my shoulders, turning back towards sharpening the weapon. For a second, I wondered why Gobber hadn't asked any questions yet. He always spoke his mind, no matter the situation. But one look at his eyes already told me my dad had filled him in.

A bustle of footsteps outside drew our attention towards the open window where Vikings usually stopped by to drop off their weapons. I was surprised to see the large mass of people crowded around the tiny opening. Weapons of all sorts lay in their hand, ready to be fixed up or rebuilt.

"Well gee, I wonder why we're getting so many orders _now_." Gobber called out dryly, rolling his eyes as he lumbered towards the group. It then struck me that every single Viking was secretly sneaking a glance at my direction, eyeing me like I had grown a pair of wings. Oh, well that explained things.

Gobber gathered up the rather large pile of weapons onto the table behind him, pausing to glare at the lingering mass, still staring towards the back of the room where I was stationed.

"Thanks for coming!" Gobber yelled rather loudly, startling the Vikings as they blushed and shuffled away in different directions. He threw an apologetic smile in my direction, and I nodded in thanks, still a bit uncomfortable from the new attention.

"You don't have to stick around, you know." He piped up, casting me a glance as he sorted through the rusted and battered down axes and swords.

"No, I like being here." I replied, making my way towards the front and handing him the sharpened sword. He examined it once, giving a satisfied nod before handing me an old axe. The blade had been so worn down it probably wouldn't be able to cut through hair.

"Think you can get that poor thing back into shape?" Gobber asked me, and I scanned it once before nodding, setting course back for the grinding wheel. It was definitely gonna take a while, though.

The hours flew by as I focused solely on fixing up weapons and sometimes upgrading them. At first, Gobber simply had me sharpening things, but when he realized I hadn't lost my touch for forging, I was soon melting and shaping metal for new sword blades like I used to. It was a good feeling, being able to work and take my mind off things.

With the final dagger sharpened and renovated, I collapsed onto a chair, wiping the sweat from my brow. Gobber whistled appreciatively at our finished work as he dusted himself off. Toothless, to my surprise, was still in a deep nap near the fireplace. He must have been more drained than I thought, sending another sharp pang of guilt running through me. Gods, I always cause problems for others.

"Thanks for your work today, it was great seeing you." Gobber's voice cut through my thoughts, and I glanced up at his warm smile. I grinned weakly, watching his expression soften as he stretched and removed his forge apron.

"Well, I'm off to dinner. Want to join me?"

I shook my head. "I'm good. Thanks, Gobber." He nodded, the smile still on his face as he left.

For a moment, I just sat there, wondering what I should do now. Go home? Toothless would probably be more comfortable sleeping at home. Mind set, I hopped off the chair and gently placed my hand on his head. The Night Fury stirred awake, one eye lazily opening to glance up at me.

"Hey bud, let's go sleep at home, okay?"

Toothless grumbled in agreement, getting to his feet as he followed me out.

I had just shut the door when someone called my name. A girl. I tensed, immediately recognizing the voice, and wishing that I was back in the forge, hidden from sight. But I didn't want to embarrass myself anymore, so I turned around, hoping that I didn't look too disheveled from the forge work.

Astrid was perched on top of Stormfly, looking as if she still couldn't believe I was here. In one fluid motion, she slid off the Nadder's wing and stepped towards me. Toothless perked up and immediately bounded towards the Deadly Nadder, exchanging squawks and roars enthusiastically in greeting.

She reached out towards me, as if she wanted to envelop me in a hug. I stiffened, reflexively backing myself against the door and she paused, thinking better of it and lowering her hand and settling for a small smile.

Instead, she took one of my clammy hands with one of hers, grasping it tightly. I didn't recoil this time, surprised at how much more relaxed that gesture made me feel.

"I'm really glad you're back." She whispered, gripping my hand more firmly.

I should've thanked her or something, or maybe changed the topic to something less distracting and less difficult for me to talk about. But of course my brain still decides to shut down when I'm talking to her, just like it always did months ago.

I nodded numbly, growing uncomfortable at the sudden lull in conversation. Her face suddenly drew into a silent grin, even wider this time, as if she was laughing at a joke I didn't hear. She met my confused gaze and gestured at an area on her right cheek.

"You have some… soot. There." She managed out, smiling broadly this time.

Oh, Gods.


	6. Waste of Time

**(A/N: Summer homework? What summer homework?)**

I stood there rubbing at my cheek with my shirt sleeve, trying not to look as embarrassed as I felt. If the Gods could intervene before I made a bigger fool of myself, that would be grand. But of course, they didn't.

I felt Astrid's hand release mine as she backed up a bit to give me some more room. My eyes were still trained on the ground while I predicted that she'd either leave from this dreadfully boring conversation or try to salvage the broken remains of what was our first interaction in months. Honestly, I was hoping for the first option.

Neither of us spoke up for a long minute, my eyes intently studying the various pieces of gravel that littered the forge entrance while her eyes bore into my head.

Please leave. Please leave. Please leave.

"Where were you?" Her voice came as a whisper, almost as if she was afraid I'd run off if she spoke too loudly.

I should've remembered that Astrid was stubborn. Of course she wouldn't leave.

I figured I should probably just answer her questions to get this over with. So I took a deep breath and finally met her ocean blue eyes, which were bright with worry. What she was worried about was beyond me.

"Frenetic Island." I didn't bother to elaborate, distancing myself as much as I could from the past few months.

She nodded thoughtfully, but I could tell she had no idea where that was. No one on Berk knew where it was, as far as I knew. Well, except for me. Although that wasn't an accomplishment I was proud of.

I could tell she wanted she wanted to say something, and I feared it was the question that I really didn't want to answer. She was going to ask what happened there, what the place was like. A question that I couldn't answer without freezing up and getting plagued with memories.

She brushed her bangs out of her eyes before reaching down to toy with the handle of her axe. I felt myself stiffening as I braced myself, silently hoping I wouldn't run off like I felt like doing.

"We looked everywhere for you." I was thrown off by the statement, having expected a question. She didn't sound accusing or angry, just… sad. I wasn't sure why. They couldn't have missed me _that _much, could they?

"Oh… Sorry, I didn't mean to waste you or the village's time like that…" My apology was cut short when her gaze suddenly hardened and she took a step forward. Tensing, I backed up against the forge door again, partially expecting her to yell at me or punch me on the shoulder for causing so much trouble to the village because they wasted their resources trying to track me down. Her fists were clenched, one hand wrapped so tightly around the handle of her axe that I assumed that she really was going to hit me.

So I shut my eyes and waited for the incoming strike. And waited. But nothing came. I had just reached the conclusion that she probably left while I was distracted when her voice sliced through the thick silence.

"You're such an idiot." My eyes flew back open, surprised at the tone of her voice. I didn't care for the insult – I'd been called plenty worse in the past – but I'd never heard her this angry.

"A waste of our time? Hiccup, we've been searching nonstop for the past five months because we _cared_. Because we were worried!"

Five months? Well that was new information. Not that it mattered. My eyes darted back towards the ground, examining the hem of my shirt when I realized she wasn't done yet.

"And I don't know what happened while you were gone there, but if you continue to act like you don't matter or that you're a waste of time, I will _personally_ give you the hardest punch on the shoulder you'll ever get." Her face was uncomfortably close to mine, our foreheads nearly touching. I nodded meekly, staring back into her cold eyes.

I felt myself relax a bit when she backed off, straightening up as the angered expression melted off her face. She looked over her shoulder, presumably looking for Stormfly. I followed her gaze, knowing that Toothless was probably with her dragon as well. I spotted them further down the road, still playfully chasing each other and exchanging a bunch of dragon noises I couldn't comprehend. My attention shifted back towards Astrid when she sighed, turning away as she made her way down the pathway. She paused, spinning back around momentarily as she regarded me quietly.

"I'm glad you're back." Her voice was a lot kinder than I expected, her eyes a lot warmer. When I made no motion to speak, she smiled slightly and turned again, her walk morphing into a jog as she approached our dragons.

Well, that went better than I expected, as nerve wracking as it was. I pushed myself off the door, slowly retracing the steps that Astrid had taken just then before Toothless nearly tackled me to the ground. The effects of the hard labor I'd completed at the forge were finally catching up to me, the healing wound on my arm starting to act up from overuse.

Stifling a grimace, I scratched Toothless on the head, falling into step beside him as we made our way home. This time, I pointedly refused to make eye contact with any of the villagers we passed by, concentrating solely on the task of getting to my house. Toothless wasn't as jumpy as he was in the morning, probably having drained his energy playing with Stormfly, and he clung to my side insistently as if I needed protecting. Usually, his overprotective nature bothered me, but I was grateful for it today; I could hold onto his saddle to lead the way while my eyes were trained on the floor.

The second I pulled the door to the house open, the aroma of what would be tonight's dinner wafted out, my stomach growling with excitement at the thought of more food. The scent was oddly familiar, one that filled me with comfort and dread at the same time. It was-

_The cracked plate of dry boar strips and the tin can of metal-tasting water were placed carelessly on the cell ground, a bit of precious water sloshing over the edge and spilling. I tore my eyes momentarily from the meager amount of food to see Fenrir glaring at me coldly, slamming the cell door shut with a frightening bang. _

"Hiccup! I was just about to go looking for you. Dinner's ready – I made your favorite dish: boar and freshly baked bread!" My dad's voice drifted across the room from where he was setting plates on the table.

Well, _was_ my favorite dish. I felt my appetite rapidly diminishing, even though the steaming plate of freshly cooked boar looked as savory and delicious than ever. But I knew that if I turned down the offer and tried to go upstairs, he'd only ask more questions. Questions that I didn't want to answer.

So I sighed and sat at the table, staring insistently at the blank plate in front of me as the inviting aroma grew stronger. This boar definitely smelled a lot better than the ones I've been eating as of recently. I was tempted to just grab the entire plate and scarf it down, but I waited silently as my dad tore a generous piece of meat onto my plate. I waited for him to start eating first, but he didn't sit down, instead reaching for something on the ground that was obstructed from my field of vision.

When he stood up, he clutched a large basket full of fish, filled to the brim with salmon and cod and lots of other species. Toothless' eyes lit up and he was immediately in front of my dad and the basket, wagging his overly large tail excitedly. Chuckling, my dad plopped it by the fireplace where Toothless eagerly followed and dug in, purring contently.

At that moment, I felt a lot better watching how well my dad interacted with Toothless. Years ago, I would've never imagined seeing this on Berk much less in our house. The thought would have been a lot more nostalgic had I not been distracted with how loudly my stomach was growling. Tentatively, I picked up a piece of the torn meat with my fork and ate it.

The boar was _definitely_ a lot better than the ones I'd eaten for months. Almost reflexively, I constantly kept my fork full of meat and ate until my plate was scraped clean. And even then, I glanced up towards my dad – who had made his way back to the table and was eating at a much slower rate – as he smiled and filled my plate with another helpful.

The rest of the dinner basically consisted of the clattering of my fork against the plate and Toothless noisily gulping down the fish as fast as I was eating. My dad must have noticed how hungry I was, because he didn't try asking questions to interrupt me while I had my fill.

In other words, he was going to ask them after I'd finished eating.

I pushed my chair back, downing the glass of water while I hopped off and made my way towards the stairs.

"Hiccup."

The word wasn't even spoken that loudly, almost so quiet that I would've missed it had I not been expecting it. I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned back around, grateful that Toothless had finished eating and made his way over to my side again. My dad hadn't moved from his spot at the dinner table, the boar on his plate left half-eaten as he placed his fork down.

"How was the forge?"

It was a simple question that I could easily answer. The forge was good, somewhere I could go to so I could get my mind off of things. But the only things that popped up in my mind were the abundance of villagers coming to gawk at me, Astrid threatening to bruise my shoulder permanently, and the reminder that my arm was still bothering me.

"Uh… Yeah, I liked it. I might go again soon." I replied carefully, hoping I didn't say anything to get him to press further.

Thankfully, my dad's expression brightened at my comment, satisfied that my trip had gone well. I wasn't sure if I was imagining it, but I thought I noticed a slight sadness flickering across his eyes, but I didn't comment on it.

"That's good. You should go to sleep, you look like you're about to collapse." I knew he was right; if I wanted, I could have curled up onto the ground and fallen asleep right there. So I simply nodded and said "Good night" before slowly trudging upstairs.

As soon as I stepped inside, Toothless made a beeline for the rock bed that was situated in the corner of the room across from my bed. We had placed that there shortly after I'd woken up from the Red Death aftermath because Toothless refused to sleep outside like the other dragons. Why? My guess was that he no longer trusted me alone and wanted to make sure I didn't lose another limb. I watched Toothless quickly heat up the rock with his fire, stomping on it slightly to quench the stronger flames and settling down. Without another sound, the Night Fury was fast asleep.

Climbing into bed was an odd experience, as weird as that sounded. I'd grown used to sleeping on a dirt stone floor for the past five months in an uncomfortably chilly cell. Pulling the fur blanket over me as I laid back onto my old pillow almost had me bursting into tears. Imagine that, a boy crying because he was lying in a bed. I don't know why such a mundane action would put me in such a state, but I felt safe for the first time in a long, long time.

And it felt nice.


	7. Visitors

**(A/N: Omg, I'm sorry. I got back from the volunteer relief trip (which was so amazing) and then got plagued with major writer's block. I spent the last couple days finishing the outline for this story before I started working on this chapter, because I like having things planned out ahaha. I'M SORRY AGAIN.)**

"_Are you hungry yet?"_

_Of course I was hungry – I hadn't eaten all day, but I didn't satisfy him with a response. I trained my eyes on the bits of upturned gravel settled in front of me that were illuminated by the torch Erland was grasping. My stomach clenched painfully from the lack of food and I held my breath, praying that it wouldn't make any noise. _

_Erland let out a low chuckle as I heard him step inside the cell. I couldn't help it; I shrunk further against the wall until my back was pressed firmly against the cold stone. I forced myself to not make eye contact with him, because I knew that if I looked up, he'd see the fear shining in my eyes. So I just sat there, feeling him crouch down in front of me. _

_He laughed again, louder this time. "So you are hungry."_

_I hated it when he was right, but I wasn't letting him win yet. I let myself take in a deep breath, trying to neutralize my expression before finally lifting my head and meeting his cold gaze. _

"_Please, I've gone longer than this without eating. You're gonna have to try harder than that." Miraculously, my voice held steady, but my brief triumph was overshadowed by the unsettling smile Erland responded with. He straightened back up, turning back towards the dungeon hallway. He glanced back over his shoulder just before stepping out._

"_Well then, let's add another day and see how it goes." He grinned, slamming the door shut loudly._

* * *

I stirred out of my sleep, sitting up as I clutched at the fur blankets, trying to even my breaths back out. It was just a dream, I kept repeating in my head as I glanced around. The sun was already up, the room basked in a warm light that helped calm me.

Going back to sleep wasn't an option, so I swung my legs over the side of the bed and got up. The bed let out a soft creak, no longer bearing what little weight I had added. I caught Toothless' ears perking up at the noise as forest green eyes opened to stare drowsily in my direction.

"Up and at 'em, bud." I whispered as Toothless grumbled and stretched, getting onto his feet and padding towards me. He nuzzled my side, waiting for me to take the lead downstairs.

As we stepped out into the hallway, I was confused as to why it was so quiet. Usually, dad would be causing a ruckus downstairs as he tried to prepare breakfast before leaving for his chieftain duties. But today, all that greeted me was an eerie silence.

"Dad?" I called out tentatively, a bit of worry finally settling in my stomach.

I glanced back at Toothless, who stared back in confusion. He didn't look on guard, meaning he hadn't sensed a threat nearby. But then again, he had just woken up.

I was just being paranoid again. I took a breath and continued down the stairs, sneaking a glance towards the kitchen. Empty.

My eyes landed on a small plate on the table alongside a small cup and I felt myself relaxing a bit. He probably left earlier than usual. I plopped down into the chair and glanced down towards the plate generously piled with eggs. Toothless made a beeline for the small basket of fish left by the fireplace, diving in enthusiastically. Admittedly, the eggs did smell pretty good, so I didn't hesitate in clearing the plate as Toothless finished his share.

I left my empty plate and cup on the table and wandered towards the front door, waiting for Toothless to join me. Did I want to go outside?

Toothless nudged me gently, making eye contact with me before glancing over at his saddle. Then back at me again. A silent question.

"I don't know, bud. I don't think dad would want us flying around again yet." Toothless let out a quiet groan, but didn't press further on the issue. Guilt pressed down again, another small reminder that I always seemed to make people (or dragons) around me unhappy.

"Maybe we should stay inside today," I said weakly. Toothless shot me a glare and used his nose to push me closer towards the door. With a sigh, I pulled the door open, squinting at the harsh sunlight that immediately greeted us.

The village seemed to be bustling with activity this morning, Vikings of all kinds rushing to and fro as they chattered animatedly. Which was good for me, because it meant that they wouldn't notice me meandering the paths towards the forge.

It was then I finally noticed the other dragons that were occupying the grounds. The couple of Terrible Terrors that were scampering past the villagers' feet, Monstrous Nightmares napping on the roofs of certain homes, Gronkles lazily flying by above.

The sight made me feel better, knowing that Vikings and dragons were still able to coexist peacefully. I stepped past the doorway, carefully dodging villagers and dragons as I took the familiar pathway to the forge.

Gobber was noisily hammering at a piece of metal, but somehow he managed to notice me slipping inside. He glanced up and smiled widely, waving the prosthetic with the hammer attached.

"Mornin', lad! Going to be a slow day today, what with everyone preparing in the Great Hall." He chirped, resuming his focus back towards shaping the sword he was working on as he spoke.

"What's everyone preparing for?" I asked as I threw on the forge apron and made my way towards a lone unsharpened sword. Toothless trotted past and settled by the forge fire, watching me work.

"Oh your dad didn't tell you? A tribe's comin' by to visit Berk soon. Wants to learn about our dragons."

I nodded at the response. Ever since dragons came to live on Berk, a couple of friendly islands had visited once they caught word of our new alliance. Some reacted positively, others were more…reserved. But overall, many seemed to accept our way of living, some even trying to bring dragons to their own island.

"Which island is it?"

Gobber scratched his head, pausing in his metalwork as he gazed up at the ceiling in deep thought. "Eh, I don't quite remember. Haven't heard of it much before, that's for sure. Ask your dad later, he'll fill you in."

Another nod as I turned towards sharpening the sword I had been grasping in my arms. It wasn't relatively worn down, so it was sharpened and ready in a matter of minutes. I placed it down on the table next to me and looked at Gobber questioningly. He glanced up and read my expression, already knowing what I wanted to ask.

"I told you there wasn't much to do today!" He called out with a grin. "Oh here, Astrid wanted her axe sharpened by today."

Astrid's name caught my attention and I took the axe, staring down at the familiar weapon.

"No pressure, you know she needs it in top notch condition." He joked, wiping off some soot that had coated his face. I gave a weak smile and turned towards the grinding wheel once again. It wasn't the first time I had to sharpen Astrid's axe, so I wasn't worried or anything.

"So…" Gobber started, clearly trying to make conversation. "How have you been?"

"Good, I guess. Just trying to get used to being back."

"Have you seen your friends yet?"

"Just Astrid."

"The others had been worried sick about you, you know."

That surprised me, and I glanced at him incredulously. There was no way Snotlout missed me, even if we were related. Maybe Fishlegs. I'm not too sure about the twins.

Gobber caught my expression and returned it with one that mirrored mine.

"What? They did! You'd been gone for Thor knows how long-"

"Five months, apparently." I filled in.

"Okay, five months, so of course they'd be worried about you!"

"Why?"

My question threw him off guard, and he stopped his hammering for a moment.

"What do you mean 'why'?" He actually looked confused, which didn't make any sense to me, because it was clearly obvious.

"What I mean is why would they be worried? If it was a couple of months ago, they would've been celebrating me going missing. Just because I made friends with a dragon-"

"Stop." Gobber's voice had gone ice cold, and I froze mid-sentence. I sneaked a glance back up from the grinding wheel towards him and noticed he'd straightened up and had his arms crossed, his expression irritated.

"No more of that. Times have changed now, lad. And it might have been hard to see back then, but they do worry about you. Best you learn to accept that." Not Snotlout. There was no way. But I never heard Gobber get so upset about something I said, so I decided not to argue more.

"Um, okay." I responded lamely. Thankfully, Gobber accepted that as an answer and resumed his hammering. I examined Astrid's axe, making sure that it was sharpened enough before placing it gingerly down alongside the sword I'd finished earlier.

"I should probably… go look for my dad." I gestured slightly as I stepped towards the door, taking off my apron. Toothless perked up and bounded over excitedly, glad at the opportunity to be moving again. Another wave of guilt washed over me when I realized Toothless had done nothing but sit around or sleep while I tried to reintegrate myself. Well that's that, I would take him flying today if it was the last thing I did.

"He's probably in the Great Hall with the others. I'll tell Astrid you stopped by." Gobber waved goodbye casually, giving no indication of the awkward interaction we'd just had.

"Oh, and Hiccup?" His voice had me stopping halfway through the entrance as I glanced back over my shoulder towards where he was standing.

"Thanks for coming by. It's nice talking to you again." Something about the way he was actually grateful and happy for my presence stirred a bit of emotion inside me. I gave him a small smile of my own before leaving for the Great Hall, feeling slightly better than when I had entered.

Toothless was oddly quiet as we navigated through the village, not as energetic or playful as he usually was. I was about to ask what was up with him when I noticed his continuous glances towards the clouds above. Gods, I was a terrible person. I pulled to a stop and placed a hand on Toothless' head. He raised his head to meet mine, and although he wasn't trying to show it, I caught the sad longing in his eyes. He missed flying.

"We'll go flying tonight. I promise." I didn't care if dad told me no, I'd sneak out if I had to. Toothless deserved this much.

The response was immediate; Toothless perked up and gave me a big lick on the cheek before running in a quick circle. I smiled and scratched his head before tracing my steps back towards the Great Hall, Toothless following at my side with renewed vigor.

Even when dinnertime was approaching, the Great Hall was flitting with numerous dragons and villagers surrounding it. I steered my through the large doors, easily locating my dad's large stature at the other side of the room.

Many of the Vikings noticed me this time, a few calling out greetings. But thankfully, they did no more than that.

It didn't take long for me to reach my dad, who was busy shouting orders at a group of Vikings.

"Keep this space cleared and make sure blankets are brought here by tomorrow. You all may leave for dinner once everything is done." His eyes landed on me and he burst into a large smile, facing me before ruffling my hair. I'd grown used to his small bursts of affection, so I didn't flinch as noticeably this time around. He didn't give any indication that he caught the action as he settled into a nearby chair while the Vikings cleared out for their homes to eat dinner.

"Sorry I wasn't there for breakfast. Did you go to the forge again?"

I nodded, eyeing the open area we were standing in. They'd pushed back a bunch of chairs and tables to clear the space, a few sheets sprawled carelessly on the ground.

"So what's with all this?" I inquired, gesturing at the empty space.

"There's a tribe that'll be visiting us soon. We're planning on having them sleep here during their stay."

"Oh yeah, Gobber was telling me about it. Which tribe is it?" I wasn't sure which tribe it could be, because all the nearby tribes had already heard about or seen our life with dragons.

"The Irenic Tribe."

"The… Irenic Tribe." I echoed, the name drawing a blank. My dad must have sensed my confusion because he continued explaining.

"From what they've written, they're not from nearby. They're a bit off the archipelago. They say they caught word of our new alliance with the dragons and want to learn more about it."

It made sense, and I knew I should've been excited. After all, I'd been the one pushing for more people to see how great dragons actually were. But right now, more new strangers was not something I was looking forward to.

"They'll be here in three more days," he continued rambling. "I'm not sure how long they'll be staying. But I think that after they leave would be a good time for us to pay that Frenetic Island a visit."

The name had me tensing up again. Great, I thought he'd forgotten about confronting them.

"Dad, I still don't think it's a good idea to-" He held up a hand, effectively having the rest of the words die in my mouth.

"I know, but that's not stopping me." And there's that classic Viking stubbornness. I sighed, knowing better than to argue. After a short pause, he pushed himself off the stool, walking towards the Great Hall doors as I followed behind with Toothless.

The sky was lightening to an orange hue, still bright enough to make out the surroundings. Toothless perked up at the view, knowing sunset was almost near. He and I both knew that flying at sunset was as good a time as any to go flying.

The problem, I thought as I glanced at my dad's back, was getting him to agree.

Well, it's now or never. I cleared my throat before quickening my pace so that I was walking side by side with my dad.

"So I was wondering about something, dad…"


	8. Good Night

**(A/N: Omg guys, college apps and summer homework are going to be the death of me. I'm so sorry for this god awfully short chapter, I promise the next one will be longer.)**

"Absolutely not."

"I'm not asking for me, I'm asking for Toothless."

"It's still a no."

This conversation was going nowhere, and I was growing as restless as Toothless was. As we drew closer to our house, going behind my dad's back to go flying seemed like my only option.

I drew to a stop as my dad walked up the steps and opened the door. Maybe he wouldn't even notice. As quietly as I could, I turned around and hopped onto Toothless' back, waiting for the door to close before I took off.

Unfortunately, my dad decided that today was the day to adopt good mannerisms as he turned around to hold the door open for me. His eyes landed on me at the bottom of the steps on Toothless and his gaze grew exasperated.

"Hiccup, get inside." He stepped back out, letting the door fall shut behind him again with a quiet thud. I held Toothless still as he made his way back towards me, eyeing me sternly.

I usually gave in at this point, too afraid of angering him, but I couldn't today. _Do it for Toothless._

"Toothless hasn't been able to fly ever since we got back, dad. It's not fair." I had been hoping for a glint of sympathy to at least cross his face, but that hope dissipated when his expression remained resolute.

"I know, and I'm sorry for that. But I don't feel comfortable with you flying off again, even if it's just for a little bit."

"It's not like it's the first time I've gone flying at sunset!"

He sighed, rubbing at his eyes tiredly with one hand. "The last time you went flying, you went missing for five months!"

I knew he was being concerned, but that comment irritated me. As if he no longer trusted that I could take care of myself.

"Are you saying that was my fault?" I didn't bother to keep the annoyance out of my voice, watching my dad pause and stare at me apologetically.

"You know that's not what I meant, son."

Toothless let out a quiet drone from underneath me, causing me to glance up at the sky reflexively. It wasn't that noticeable yet, but it was getting darker. I was running out of time.

"I'll be back soon." I stated curtly before I slid my prosthetic into the saddle mechanic.

But before I could fully expand Toothless' wing, a hand tightly grabbed my wrist, locking it in an iron grip. The motion was terrifyingly familiar, and I flinched violently.

My dad didn't seem to notice, too focused on calming Toothless' grumbling before turning his attention to me.

"Hiccup, I forbid it." He stated firmly, adopting that chieftain tone he used when he wouldn't take no for an answer.

I knew he didn't mean it, but his grip actually really hurt. I've felt it way too many times in the past few months.

* * *

_Gruff hands dragging me down the dungeon hallways_

_Hands locked around my arms as they led me back towards Erland for another questioning_

_Fingers digging into my wrists as they threw me back into the cell_

* * *

"Dad…" My voice shook when I said the word, but I didn't care like I usually would've. I just wanted him to let go.

At first, he didn't seem to understand what had me so terrified. But as I kept feebly trying to tug my arm away, his confused stare cleared up and he immediately released his grip.

My dad's voice had gotten all flustered and worried, a combination one didn't hear quite often. "Oh, Thor, I'm sorry son. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, not your fault," I mumbled as I glanced back up towards him, still trying to rub the feeling back into my wrist. A brief silence fell between us, my dad still staring at me worriedly, so I decided to give it one last push.

"Look, I know why you don't want me to go, but Toothless really needs it. And if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have gotten off that island."

For a moment, neither of us moved. He shut his eyes briefly and let out a long sigh, a sign I hoped was him giving in. I felt Toothless restlessly shift again, and I was almost about to just take off when he opened his eyes again, worry still dawning his face.

"Be back before nightfall." The words sent relief coursing through me as I nodded and adjusted my foot, opening up Toothless' tailfin.

Toothless let out an excited bark before crouching down and leaping upwards in one powerful jump. The thrill of flying filled me again, a smile touching my face at the familiar sensation of the wind strongly sweeping past us.

I decided to settle for a lap around the island, just for my dad's peace of mind. The orange sky was fading into a darker purple hue, making it pretty difficult to see. Not that I cared – I straightened up and shut my eyes, listening only to the wind blowing by and the crash of the ocean waves somewhere down below. Toothless crooned happily, fully extending his wings and placing us in a steady glide over the forest.

The rest of the flight was mostly quiet, just us silently flying around the island with no interruptions. The sky was darkening quickly, getting to the point where I could barely see my hand in front of me. I located the distant lights of the village ahead and steered Toothless back towards home.

"We'll do our usual flying things tomorrow morning, okay?" I reassured Toothless, petting him lightly on the head. He responded with a content purr as I straightened back up to watch the village lights grow closer and closer.

When we pushed through the door and into the house, I found my dad situated near the fireplace, absently poking at the dying embers. His eyes instantly sought mine at the sound of the door opening, and I could tell from the relieved look in his eyes that he was waiting for me.

"Oh good, you're back." He acknowledged happily, turning away from the fireplace as he sauntered towards the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really, I think I might just go to sleep." My comment had him halt in his actions, the plate already in his hands. The disheartened look in his eyes made me feel bad for turning down his offer, but sleep was already tugging heavily at eyelids.

He let out a small grin after a second, nodding in agreement. "You look like you're about to pass out."

It was only then I noticed how heavily I was leaning against Toothless, the Night Fury being the only thing keeping me from crashing onto the ground.

I was about to agree when he spoke up again. "Hiccup, I wanted to apologize… for earlier." I glanced up at his stricken gaze, guilt prominent in his features. At first, in the sluggish state I was in, I couldn't process what he was apologizing for. But, I distantly remembered when he had grabbed me to stop me from going flying. Was he still thinking about that? He couldn't possibly have cared that much.

"It's okay, really. I'm fine, it wasn't your fault." I mumbled, rubbing at one of my eyes with my free hand.

Neither of us spoke after that, so I took the lull in conversation as a sign for me to make my way to my bedroom to go to sleep.

I was halfway up the stairs, still having an arm against Toothless for support, when my dad's voice cut through the silence again.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Tomorrow you should-" The unfinished sentence drew me out of my half-awake stupor as I turned around to stare at my dad, a thoughtful look on his face.

"I should…?" I prompted, blinking away some of the sleep from my eyes.

He shook his head, offering me a smile, gesturing at me to go upstairs.

"No, tell me." I demanded stubbornly, turning around completely to face him from where I was positioned on the steps, one hand still on Toothless' head.

"It's not urgent, I'll tell you tomorrow morning when you're fully awake." He replied gently, making the same gesture with his hands again.

I sighed, knowing better than to press the issue. "Ok, good night." I murmured, turning back around to focus on making it to my bedroom, sleep already fighting to keep me awake again.

From behind, I thought I heard my dad respond with a "Good night", but I was too caught up in my drowsiness to be sure. By the time we reached my room, Toothless practically carried me to my bed as I flopped onto it, not bothering to reach for the blanket furs as I feel into a deep sleep.


	9. Trust

**(A/N: As promised, a longer chapter! I got through my first day of school today :D My teacher's seem pretty chill but a recent thunderstorm had knocked out the A/C and it was so hot and humid inside I wanted to cry. But with school starting, I'm sorry if I don't post new chapters as quick as I used to :( I'll do my best!)**

Dad was gone again by the time I was awake and downstairs, a plate of eggs already set on the table. I didn't think much of it this time and settled down to eat while Toothless nose-dived for the basket of fish in the corner of the room. The sun was barely up, the house still chilly and dim. Toothless finished before I did, already excitedly waiting by my side, eyes shining with anticipation. I took the hint and cleared the plate, hopping off the chair to lead him towards the door. No one should be up yet, as far as I knew.

Well, except for my dad.

I found myself lingering in front of the door, hesitating to open it. Should I wait for him to get back? Toothless' croon caught my attention as I met his confused gaze. I shrugged weakly, staring back helplessly.

"Maybe we should wait for my dad to get back. I don't want him panicking that I'm missing." Toothless grumbled in agreement, sitting back on his hind legs next to the door.

"Plus," I added, "he needs to tell me what he didn't say last night."

I paused for a moment, another thought hitting me.

"Or maybe it would be easier if I went to go find him." Toothless cooed, obviously liking that option better than just sitting around.

Before I could even reach up to pull the door open, it flung open with a crash. I startled backwards, Toothless even shrinking away from the door in surprise. My dad nonchalantly strolled in, stopping just before he nearly crashed into me, his eyes mirroring my surprise.

"You're up early." He remarked lightly, a ghost of a smile touching his face.

"Yeah, um, I just… Good morning." I shuffled aside, making room for him to pass through. He didn't move, simply staring down at me. "I was wondering if I could take Toothless on a morning flight."

His forehead creased in disapproval, but he didn't blatantly reject the question this time, to my relief. It took him a lot less time to convince him because after a few seconds he gave me a curt nod.

"Be careful, stay around the island." He pressed firmly, turning to open the door for me. Toothless immediately bounded outdoors, enjoying the fresh morning breeze. My dad's eyes landed on me still rooted where I stood and he rose an eyebrow questioningly.

"You were going to say something last night," I started, watching his face scrunch in confusion. Had he really forgotten? "You said you'd tell me this morning because I was tired."

His eyes lit up in remembrance as he shifted to let his foot act as a doorstop, letting his hand fall away from the frame.

"That's right, the teens have been looking for you. Think you can pay them a visit at the Academy after your flight?" Looking for me? I had no idea why; most likely they needed help with their dragons. The Academy had only just been created and getting off the ground when I had disappeared, so there were probably still a lot of things to teach and get through.

I nodded sullenly, still slightly uncomfortable with meeting them again. Especially Snotlout. I'd just help them with their problems and go straight to the forge.

"Thanks, I will. See you later." I called as I walked through the open door. Toothless immediately padded over and crouched to the ground for me to hop on. In a matter of seconds, we were taking off the ground and soaring over the village like we used to.

Being up in the air with Toothless was probably the only thing that relaxed me ever since I got back – working in the forge was a close second. The village was still heavy with sleep, many of the dragons also asleep on various rooftops or open fields.

I steered Toothless towards the ocean near the island, going far enough where we could perform our usual flight techniques with plenty of room. Even after five months, the seemingly reckless and steep dives we engaged in came naturally, filling us both with the same adrenaline that it always did.

Pulling him back up past the clouds, I took in the brightening skies and brisk morning wind with a grin. I hadn't felt this content in a while, and part of me wanted to never come back down. With another deep breath, I reached over to pat Toothless' head.

"Alright, ready bud?" I didn't need to elaborate; Toothless already knew. He tensed a bit, but let me unclip my prosthetic from the tailfin without any complaints. I heaved myself up so that both of my feet were positioned on top of Toothless' back, crouching down as much as I could.

I flipped off, turning until I was diving headfirst towards the vast ocean floor at a frighteningly high speed. Toothless had no trouble catching up to fall in sync with me, and for a moment I just let us fall together, the wind roaring in my ears.

To my surprise, Toothless suddenly turned so that his back was towards me, his signal that I should get back on the saddle. I chanced a glance down, wondering if we had fallen that fast, but we hadn't. There was still a lot of air time between us and the waters, but I didn't hesitate to follow his lead and grab myself back into the saddle, reopening his tailfin.

He spread his wings, breaking our fall and situating us miles above the ocean floor. Usually, we fell and pulled up at the last possible second, close enough that his paws would skim the crashing waves and spray me with ocean mist. The possibility finally hit me that Toothless still wasn't over that incident, worried it might happen again.

We were nowhere near the sea stacks, but I could make out their location in the far distance. A thick fog was settled over the rock formations, nearly shielding them from view. Somehow, that only added to the uneasy feeling that filled my stomach whenever I thought back to the area.

Toothless seemed to sense my nervous energy, growling quietly as he briskly turned in the opposite direction and back towards Berk. I didn't argue, letting him steer in silence as the sun started to warm my skin from its cold wind-bitten temperature.

As we drew closer to the village and towards the Academy, I could feel my earlier brief bit of happiness melting away instantly, replaced with a cold feeling of anxiousness. I couldn't avoid them forever, I knew that. But I didn't want to deal with their questions, or anyone's questions for that matter.

I finally took over and directed Toothless past the forge and towards the Academy, many of the villagers already out and about across the island. A few Terrible Terrors whisked by in a flock towards the open seas, probably out to look for some fish. The dragons' presence never ceased to comfort me, but today they didn't seem to ease my nerves as we landed in front of the Academy.

Even from outside I could hear the ruckus echoing across the Arena walls. Oddly enough, the noise brought more relief than anything, only solidifying my assumption that they only needed me to help with a dragon problem. No other questions needed.

With that thought as my final pep talk, I managed to drag myself inside, Toothless close by my side. But to my surprise, what greeted my eyes wasn't the chaos I imagined.

Snotlout was situated on top of Hookfang, flying in circles of all sizes around the Arena, weaving past the Zippleback that the twins were haphazardly clinging onto. In a sense, it _was _chaos. Just not as bad as I'd imagined. Amazingly, Snotlout seemed to have Hookfang under some sort of control, seeing as how he hadn't gone flying off his dragon by now.

The Arena was filled with only the sounds of Snotlout and the twins' yelling along with their dragons' roars as I looked around for the others. I instantly spotted Astrid leaning against the wall on the opposite end of the Arena, looking irritated beyond belief. Stormfly was settled down next to her, not batting an eye to the commotion above.

As if she sensed my presence, her gaze met mine and her eyes widened in shock. She instantly straightened up and made a beeline towards me, completely ignoring the hazards swooping past her. I winced on her behalf, fearing that she'd actually get hit by a stray dragon tail or claw. Then again, I forgot had combat-ready Astrid was, even when she wasn't paying attention. She managed to sidestep the obstacles easily, coming out unscathed.

Her movement caught Fishlegs' eye, who was settled a few feet away from where she had been standing, and he traced her direction to where I stood. He mirrored her reaction, running towards me as fast as he could. Unfortunately for him, Hookfang's tail sideswiped the teen, throwing him onto his back with a yelp.

I couldn't check to see if he was alright because Astrid was suddenly in front of me, eyeing me with a fierce intensity. I shrunk away slightly, already regretting my decision to come here.

Her expression softened as she stepped back to give me some more space. "I'm glad you showed up." She remarked brightly, turning around to call down Snotlout and the twins – who were still too busy yelling at each other about who the better rider was to notice my arrival – when Fishlegs suddenly barreled into me.

We both hit the ground with a crash, and I landed heavily a few feet away from him, biting back a cry from the sharp pains running up my arm. Toothless growled warningly, but he didn't do anything more. He remembered Fishlegs enough to know he didn't mean any harm.

"Fishlegs!" Astrid snapped angrily, stepping over to help me up. I didn't object to the assistance, still reeling from the collision as I staggered back onto my feet.

"Oh Thor, I'm so sorry Hiccup! I just-I got excited because I hadn't seen you in so long and we all missed you and I didn't know you were going to show up today…" Fishlegs was tripping over himself trying to apologize, and I hurried to calm him down before he had a breakdown.

"It's fine, really. It's nice to see you too." I tried offering a smile but ending up grimacing at the throbbing in my arm, still aching from the recent fall.

"Woah! Is that Hiccup?" Tuffnut's voice rang out from the center of the Arena, the twins landing Barf and Belch to the ground as they hopped off and shuffled over. Snotlout was close behind, not even bothering to land Hookfang as he jumped off while he was still a few feet off the ground.

At this point, I was really regretting showing up.

Snotlout pushed his way until he was in front of me, and I instinctively took a few steps back. Every time I'd interacted with Snotlout, it never ended peacefully for me. The last time we'd talked, I ended up almost getting burnt to a crisp when he egged Hookfang on to show me his secret move. I was hoping for him to just throw out a snarky comment and turn his attention back towards ignoring me like he usually did.

But he said nothing. He just stared at me as if he couldn't believe I was standing in front of him.

Before he could do anything else, the twins shoved him aside to take their place in front of me. Things were starting to feel like I was just an exhibit for them to gawk at, and I desperately wished I had just flown to the forge today instead.

"You're a lot quieter." Tuffnut remarked bluntly, giving me this odd look like I'd sprouted wings.

"Uhh, thanks." Was all I could say, growing more uncomfortable by the second. I couldn't tell if he was complimenting me or throwing an insult, and I quite frankly didn't care. There were too many people staring and too much awkwardness between us.

"Is it just me, or did you get smaller?" Ruffnut asked suddenly, leaning closer and squinting her eyes, as if that would give her the answer.

At least these questions weren't anything I couldn't handle, and I shrugged, honestly not knowing the answer. I probably had just lost a lot of weight; Fenrir tending to forget my breakfast or lunch frequently and Erland just restricting me from eating because I wouldn't cooperate had taken its toll.

"Are you okay?"

Even without looking, I recognized the voice, but I still turned to stare at Snotlout in bewilderment. I'd expected a question like that to come from Astrid or Fishlegs. But not Snotlout. I glanced towards Astrid uncertainly, but she stared back steadfastly, clearly wanting to hear my answer.

I wanted to tell them the truth: that I wasn't okay. That I'd been hounded by flashbacks ever since I got back and that they've been driving me insane. That I felt like me coming back to Berk would only draw the Frenetics to us, and that thought terrified me.

But I couldn't.

"Um, yeah. I'm fine. I don't know why I wouldn't be." Even to my ears I didn't sound the least bit convincing, and I felt myself flush, ducking my head so that they wouldn't notice. The tips of my boots became the focus of my vision as another unsettling silence fell between us.

Just ten more minutes. Then I'm leaving.

"Well, that's all the questions, right?" Astrid piped in, the lightness in her voice sounded a bit too forced.

"Wait no, I have one more." I sighed when I heard Tuffnut's voice, taking in a deep breath before lifting my head and giving him the go-ahead. Toothless, who had gone off running around the Arena with the other dragons while we talked, made his way back towards my side and nudged my hand slightly. I reflexively let my hand run over his head, appreciating the comforting gesture.

"Did you get any cool scars? You're so lucky, you probably have so many you can show off!" He exclaimed excitedly, eyeing me with anticipation. Ruffnut nodded in agreement, a grin on her face as she waited for my response.

Scars. A sign of a Viking's valiance in battle, our symbol of strength and courage. And I was covered in way too many of them. But I wasn't proud of the scars I got from them. I hated them so much.

So what was I supposed to do? Lie? Not respond? I definitely wasn't going to tell them, that much was certain.

By some miracle, Astrid must have caught the flash of panic in my eyes because she abruptly elbowed Tuffnut's side harshly. He yelped and nearly toppled into Ruffnut, whipping his head from staring at me to glare at her, rubbing his side gingerly.

"Ow! Hey, what was that for?" He demanded angrily, grumbling when Astrid pointedly ignored him.

"I think we've asked enough questions, let's get back to our plans for today. Snotlout, you said something about a race around the island?" Snotlout brightened in confirmation and began organizing the schematics of the race with the others as Astrid flashed me an apologetic look while they were distracted. I nodded in thanks, letting my hand reach back up towards Toothless' head, wanting nothing more than to leave for Gobber's forge.

8 more minutes.

"Hiccup, want to join?"

Snotlout's voice drew me out of my thoughts as I glanced up to notice the other's staring at me expectantly.

"Sorry, what?" I stammered, thrown off by the sudden question.

Snotlout pointed towards where all the other dragons were still lazily settled inside the Arena. "We're going to have a race around the island so I can show them how easily I can beat everyone with Hookfang. Want to join?"

They looked so hopeful that I felt bad that I would be turning down the offer. As much as I usually jumped at any chance to go flying, I wasn't feeling competitive at the moment. I was too distracted by my thoughts to concentrate on racing either way.

I shook my head, ignoring the pang in my chest when their faces fell. "I think I'll sit this one out. If you want, I'll stick around here to determine the winner." My offer brought the hopeful expressions back in their eyes as they nodded vigorously and ran for their dragons.

So much for 6 more minutes.

I sighed and led Toothless into the Arena as I watched the others mount their dragons and line themselves up just outside the entrance.

"Ready? Go!" Snotlout yelled, all the dragons running and taking off into the air, leaving stray pebbles scattering in their wake.

Toothless watched the retreating figures flying off into the distance curiously before turning his gaze onto me, waiting for my lead. I leaned against the side of the Arena, sliding down until I hit the ground, hugging my legs towards my chest. Toothless followed, curling up in a small circle next to me, shutting his eyes and purring quietly.

Had I been too distant towards them? I knew that my responses to their questions weren't what they wanted, but it was better than the truth.

"Think I should've been more talkative today, bud?" I asked Toothless, just wanting to get my thoughts out. Toothless lazily opened one eye and cooed. I took that was a "yes" and signed again, knowing he was right.

"I'll try again when they get back. Then we'll go to the forge." Toothless droned quietly in confirmation, closing his eye and readjusting his position to resume his nap.

The problem was, I wasn't trusting them enough. Out of all of them, I trusted Astrid the most, but I couldn't even bring myself to talk to her comfortably. Our conversations would probably go a lot smoother if I just had a little faith in them and opened up. But after growing up with Snotlout and the twins like I had, it made sense that I couldn't open up to them that easily.

* * *

"_You know why they haven't found you yet?" Erland chuckled darkly, leaning casually against the inside bars of my cell, eyes bright with amusement. "It's because they don't care."_

"_That's a lie." I spat back, tugging at the chains restraining my arms again to test their strength. Still no good. _

"_Really? I'm sure if they had dragons like you say, then they would have no problem flying around and finding us." His words had me slightly pausing, the tiniest bit of anxiousness planting itself and growing in my stomach._

"_T-the island's hard to spot." I mentally cursed myself for stuttering, knowing that only made myself look weak._

"_It may as well be, but if they cared, surely they would have tried even harder to find you then?" Erland was grinning fully by now, taking advantage of my hesitation and savoring it._

_I didn't respond, wondering if maybe he was right._

* * *

I stifled a groan and buried my head into my arms, shaking my head.

They care, I assured myself repeatedly. They care.

If they hadn't cared, they wouldn't have reacted the way they did. Everyone I'd talked with since I got back had been wanting to help. That meant they cared.

The strong beating of wings had me lifting my head, blinking a couple times to readjust to the light. A dragon swooped in effortlessly through the entrance, landing heavily in the middle of the Arena.

Well, there was my cue. I stood up, brushing some dust off my clothes as Toothless stirred awake at my movement. He grumbled and stretched, sitting up next to me drowsily.

They do care. I can open up to them. Like the old times.

I offered the rider a weak grin, stepping forward as they hopped off their dragon. "I figured you'd be the winner, Astrid."

Just trust them.


	10. Tentative Friendship

**(A/N: Senior year is a lot more overwhelming than I expected it to be :C I'm so so sorry I haven't updated in forever, there's so much going on that I've had no time to write at all. Even now I decided to put off some work that's due tomorrow because I've been wanting to write this for days xD I wrote this chapter in one take, so I'm not too confident in how good it is, but hey, it's a long chapter :D On a sidenote, has any of you watched The Giver? I actually never read it so the movie was actually really good in my opinion. Jonas was particularly attractive. But the soundtrack is so good too omg! Ok I'm done, I apologize in advance if it takes me a while to update again, I'll try my best asdjakdf)**

"And _that_, my friends," Snotlout sang out triumphantly, chest puffed out, "is how you become the best dragon trainer ever."

Astrid rolled her eyes, discreetly mumbling under her breath at the lack of productivity as she made her way back towards Stormfly near the arena entrance. The other teens stayed crowded around Snotlout, although the initial excitement at the prospect that Snotlout would actually teach them something useful regarding dragon training had quickly diminished.

"All you said was that we had to be like you." Tuffnut pointed out, slightly annoyed.

Snotlout's grin stayed as wide as ever as he nodded once. "Exactly. The only way you can be the best dragon trainer ever is to be like me."

I sighed from where I remained barely noticeable against one of the Arena walls, on the ground next to Toothless. After the awkward encounters I'd had yesterday, I had been ready to bolt towards home as soon as the other teens had gotten back from their dragon race. But when they'd requested I come back the next day, I couldn't bring myself to refuse.

So here I was, back in the shadows as the teens bickered with Snotlout over who had the better concept of taming dragons best. From the bits of words I could pick up, the twins were advocating that blowing things up would bring the dragons to them, while Snotlout argued that only his good looks were enough to tame the fiercest dragons.

I was so out of it that I didn't hear or notice Astrid approach until she plopped down next to me. The sudden movement surprised me, but the shock quickly gave way to fluster when she grabbed one of my hands with her own.

Her eyes searched mine for a second before she frowned. "I'm sorry, this must be really boring for you."

The fact that she was apologizing because I might be bored already had me speechless. Since when had my lack of enthusiasm for an activity become a concern for her?

"No, I'm just tired is all. Don't worry about it." She didn't seem to buy my response, but she didn't say anything else to back up her suspicion.

Snotlout's voice suddenly cut through the quiet conversation, echoing loudly across all the walls.

"Hiccup! Do you remember?" I had no idea what he was asking about, and I sat there dumbfounded with what must have been an extremely confused expression. Snotlout's eyes flickered down towards where Astrid's hand still clasped mine, and we simultaneously released our grip, causing his eyes to go back to meet mine expectantly.

I cleared my throat nervously, looking for the words to answer. "Sorry, I didn't hear the question." I called back, hoping my voice would carry across to where he was standing with the others.

Snotlout grinned lopsidedly, straightening up before he repeated the question. "Remember that time when we tried getting Ruff and Tuff to train a Terrible Terror and they ended up burning down a stable? Wasn't that hilarious?"

"Hilarious? You could've burned down the entire village!" Astrid snapped, pushing herself to her feet.

"Yeah, like we've never had to rebuild burned houses before." Snotlout responded dismissively, pointedly avoiding the death glare Astrid was throwing at him. He looked back towards me. "It was funny, right?"

The memory sounded vaguely familiar, but I didn't doubt him; it sounded like something the twins would definitely do. Ruffnut and Tuffnut started cackling in delight at how fun burning things were as I nodded in response to the question.

Snotlout frowned slightly, disappointed. "Come on, I'm trying to lighten the mood here! I don't even get a laugh?"

I flushed, ducking my head back towards the ground. "Sorry," I mumbled, but I'm pretty sure only Astrid was able to hear my apology. I felt her glance briefly at me before she stepped forward towards the others.

"Alright, can we actually focus today and get some things done? Like actually learning how to ride our dragons better?" She gazed at them all sternly before walking towards Stormfly once more, giving the Nadder an affectionate rub.

I caught Snotlout's gaze once more, the frown that had been on his face slowly dissipating as he turned his attention towards Astrid. "I can ride Hookfang perfectly, thank you very much." He retorted calmly, turning to jog towards the Nightmare's napping form and patting its head. The dragon gave a quiet purr, but did no more to indicate that it would wake up.

The twins and Fishlegs, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to ride dragons, hurried to shuffle to their respective dragon's side, eyes shining with anticipation.

"Can we try doing tricks today? Or set something on fire?" Tuffnut asked excitedly, automatically high-fiving his sister at her approval.

Astrid's glare remained as she crossed her arms in disbelief. "You guys can't even ride your dragon properly. How are you going to perform tricks without falling to your deaths?"

Ruffnut and Tuffnut let out cries of outrage at her accusation, but I noticed no one actually denied her claim.

Toothless had been surprisingly quiet the entire time I'd been here, and I turned to check on where he'd been napping on the ground minutes ago. He was still there, but one eye was lazily open as he took in the scene in front of him. Even from where I stood, I could tell from the restless swishing of his tail and the way he kept glancing briefly at the sky that he was bored out of his mind.

Guilt weighed heavily on my chest again as I ignored whatever new argument Astrid was having with the twins and took a couple steps to put myself in front of Toothless.

Only then did the Night Fury open both eyes and lift his head slightly to watch me. One look at my face and I knew Toothless could tell what I was thinking – he had this scary knack for seeing past all of my facades no matter how easily I could hide my thoughts from others.

Toothless grumbled and pulled himself to his feet, leaning forward to nuzzle my hand. A sign of reassurance. Telling me not to worry about him. The dragon was too selfless, and it only made me feel worse that I wasn't treating Toothless as well as I should be.

I ignored his comforting gesture and got on my knees so that I was eye level with the Night Fury.

"We'll go flying longer tonight. I promise. Just the two of us." As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt a sense of unease, like I was forgetting something. But I brushed it off as Toothless' eyes shined with gratitude and love, giving me a quick lick on the cheek in his happiness. I felt a small smile touch my face as I scratched behind his ears, listening to his content purrs.

I'd almost forgotten that we weren't alone until I heard another voice cutting through the sudden lull in sound. This time it was Fishlegs.

"Hiccup! Want to go flying with us?" It was phrased as a question, but I caught the pleading tone underlying his voice. I felt Toothless perk up at the question, his emerald green eyes whipping to gauge my response. That alone made me want to accept, to make Toothless happy. But I hadn't been to the forge all day, and I should probably help out a little.

I rose unsteadily to my feet, meeting all of their gazes before answering. "I really would, but I think I should check the forge first to see if I can help Gobber with anything…"

Astrid's voice immediately followed, replacing the uncertainty of which my voice sounded with one of confidence. "I checked by the forge this morning. Gobber said you were off work for today and that he had everything covered. He said business would be slow today anyways." I didn't know how Gobber knew when business would be slow or not, but I realized that I now had no other choice.

I sighed and relented, nodding as I heard Fishlegs squeal with excitement at my company. Toothless was even more so, nearly tackling me to the ground in an attempt to hug me.

The smile on Astrid's face was huge as she gestured us all outside. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go."

Toothless took off, bounding for the entrance before anyone else could take a step further. I followed slowly behind, watching the others ahead as they began leaving with their dragons as well.

The Arena got noticeably quieter as the twins' loud chatter slowly diminished as they got further away, and I was just about to step outside to join everyone when a large pair of hands suddenly grabbed around my waist.

* * *

"_You didn't think you could get away that easily, did you?" Erland's voice echoed through my head, followed by the mocking laugh that I'd grown to despise._

* * *

The voice sounded so frighteningly familiar and so close to my ear that any sense of security I'd had since I got back came crashing down, replaced with only terror.

I couldn't stop the cry that escaped my lips as I whipped around in an attempt to get away from the hands. To my surprise, the hands didn't grip at me like I expected, and I ended up turning around too hard and too quickly. The momentum sent me crashing to the floor on my butt, but I couldn't even feel any pain over the adrenaline coursing through my body. All rational thought fled me, and I didn't even look up to see if it was really Erland as I scrambled backwards, away from the figure looming over me.

Only then did I realize that the grabber hadn't made another move since I'd resisted. I blinked a couple times as I glanced up uncertainly, squinting against the sunlight that blazed brightly overhead.

I couldn't tell if it was surprise or relief running though me when my vision adjusted enough for me to notice that it was actually Snotlout, not Erland. His face was a mixture of shock and fear, his hands still outstretched in front of me from when he'd tried to grab me. Why had he tried to grab me?

"Hiccup, I…" Snotlout stammered, completely caught off guard and I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me. Had I overreacted? So much for getting along with everyone again.

"I'm sorry." I cut in, trying to get back on my feet, except I realized I was shaking so much I only fell back on my butt. I took in a few breaths, trying to calm down before I tried getting up again.

Snotlout took the smallest forward, and I focused on staring at his boots rather than look back up at him. I didn't want to see the terror mirrored in his expression, or – even worse – pity.

"Let me help." His voice had become extremely small, and I was quick to shake my head as I watched his feet freeze in place.

I didn't want any help. I already looked stupid enough in front of him, and to get help for something as simple as standing up was out of the question. "It's okay, I just need a few seconds." I reassured him, my mind racing with an explanation. What do I tell him? That I was just startled? That didn't explain why I'd reacted so extremely, but I decided that was enough explanation for someone like Snotlout.

"Hiccup? What is taking you so long-" Astrid's voice suddenly reverberated through the Arena, and I felt myself stiffen as Snotlout instinctively took a few steps backwards. Things were definitely going downhill again. She never finished her sentence, as I could feel her taking in the scene. Me on the ground, Snotlout probably looking incredibly guilty standing awkwardly in front of me.

I chanced a discreet glance and watched as Astrid's gaze hardened before making her way towards Snotlout in seconds. He immediately shied away, nearly tripping over himself and avoiding her glare.

Astrid was fuming. "Snotlout, I swear to Thor I will have Stormfly carry you and drop you in the middle of the ocean-"

"Astrid." I managed, relieved that she immediately stopped, turning her full attention towards me. I took in one more breath before heaving myself off the ground, unsteadily brushing off the gravel and dust off my pants. "It wasn't his fault. I mean, I was the one who overreacted."

Astrid raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. I decided to give a very, very brief explanation. "He grabbed me, and I was surprised. That's all."

She turned to look at Snotlout for confirmation, who was still intently focused on staring at the tip of his boots rather than at either of us. I'd never seen him look so timid before, and it made me wonder how much more different he'd gotten since I'd known him before Toothless.

"Well, Snotlout? Why'd you grab him?" Astrid asked, although it sounded more accusing than inquiring. Snotlout shuffled his boot against the ground before speaking, his voice still tinged with guilt.

"I just… wanted to tickle him. To make him laugh." Only then did he finally look up, finally meeting my eyes.

Astrid looked at a loss for words, and I couldn't blame her. I never expected Snotlout to be the one to try such a thing, with me especially. Back then, he'd never even care if I'd been having a bad day. Heck, he'd been the _cause_ of my bad days, and here he was, trying to get me to laugh because I must have seemed down.

I managed a smile, ignoring the fact that my heart was still beating so fast it might burst out of my chest. "Thanks, Snotlout."

The words seemed to lighten a load off his shoulders as he smiled in relief. "No problem. I'm sorry though, I should've known better than to that so soon after you'd…" He trailed off, looking a bit more uncomfortable.

After I'd been missing for five months trapped on a hostile island. I didn't get why he was so nervous about finishing the sentence, but he must assume that it's a sensitive topic for me. I nodded, wanting to get the conversation over with, knowing that continuing it would only make things uncomfortable for both of us.

Astrid cleared her throat, managing to have found her voice. "We should get going before it gets dark."

Snotlout and I nodded, heading for the entrance for a second time when Fishlegs came barreling in, eyes alight with panic.

"Hiccup! I'm sorry, I tried to stop him, but Toothless suddenly went running off somewhere in the village. He sure is fast for a dragon that can't fly without you."

Toothless never ran off on his own unless it was something important. The news surprised me, and it must have surprised Astrid as well because she turned towards me hesitantly, searching my expression before I spoke again.

"I'll go look for him. You guys can go flying." Astrid opened her mouth to protest, but I shook my head. "I'll find him. Trust me. I don't want to ruin everyone's day because of me."

Astrid pursed her lips, but finally gave in, nodding in agreement. "If we spot him from above, we'll let you know." I agreed, watching her, Snotlout, and Fishlegs run off and take to the skies with the twins before I started my trek down towards the heart of the village.

My first guess was at the forge. Had Toothless assumed I left something behind? Did he just want to nap by the fireplace again?

I heard Gobber busy clanking away at something before I even walked in, and the heat of the forge and smell of soot instantly greeted me like an old friend.

"Hiccup! I told Astrid to tell you that you had the day off today, lad!" Gobber sounded as cheery as ever, but I was too busy scanning the room for Toothless to respond immediately.

"Have you seen Toothless here?" The confused expression on Gobber's face already told me the answer, but I still waited for a response.

"No, it's been just me and my metal." He chuckled. "Maybe the Night Fury's smelled our new guests."

I perked up. New guests?

Gobber raised an eyebrow at my reaction. "Don't you remember? Those people from the Irenic Tribe that were coming to visit? They landed just a bit ago. They're down at the Great Hall."

The memory filled my mind with resounding clarity, and it began to make sense. Gobber must have been right, that was why Toothless ran off. Probably to go see who the new people were.

"Thanks, Gobber. I'll go stop by and check." I ducked back out the forge as Gobber called out goodbye and trekked down towards the beaten pathway, dodging the occasional Terror scampering in my path towards the Great Hall.

Sure enough, Toothless was already sitting near the Great Hall doors, eyeing it curiously. My footsteps caught his attention as his ears perked in my direction. Catching sight of me, Toothless quickly crooned and bounded towards my side, nudging my affectionately with his nose.

"Did you want to meet the new guests, bud?" Toothless cooed in affirmation. "Me too, let's go inside."

We turned to climb the steps leading to the entrance when my dad suddenly pushed through the doors, looking fairly happy. Upon noticing me at the bottom of the steps, he grew even happier.

"Son! Come to meet the new visitors, I take it?" I nodded, relaxing at his light tone. They must be nice people if they don't put my dad on guard.

He leisurely climbed down the stairs, pausing to ruffle my hair as he passed by. "They're unpacking inside and setting up for the night, so you can go greet them now. Don't be too long, they must be tired after their trip. I'll make some dinner at home."

"Got it." I replied, eyes already focused on the wooden doors in front of me. I felt slightly anxious yet excited to meet them, hoping that they were as enthusiastic about befriending dragons as we were. I've had enough of hostility and conflict to last me a lifetime.

Toothless and I climbed the remainder of the steps up as my dad descended down them, going in opposite directions. Without a second thought to back out, I pulled the doors open and stepped inside.

"Well well well, and who might you be?" The sudden voice surprised me, and I scanned the expansive room for the source of the voice. I finally pinpointed it to someone surrounded by a group of other people in the far back of the Great Hall and I felt myself and Toothless stiffen simultaneously.


	11. The Irenics

**(A/N: I'm terrible at updating during the school year, I admit it. I've been so busy with so many things, but I made this chapter really long to make up for it. Although I'm really sorry, I feel like I'm writing this story wrong. I just never like any of the chapters that I write, especially this one. So if you read this and don't like it, I'm really sorry :(**

**On a side note - I have two songs to rave about: "Immortals" - Fall Out Boy and "Warriors" - Imagine Dragons. If you ever have time, check them out, they're amazing.**

**I'll try to update as soon as I can (I need to work on my other WIPs, I know sigh), but if anyone can, I wouldn't mind some thoughts on the way I'm writing. It just...idk. Things that are good/things that I could work on would really help me know what to do better on or keep for future chapters. You all are awesome, thanks!)**

* * *

From what I could tell, there weren't that many of them, maybe around twenty. They were all huddled in the same area near the back of the room, some with blankets still rolled in their hands. Even from where I stood in front of the entrance, I could easily pick out the leader, who was practically twice the size of everyone else. I would even say his stature rivaled my dad's.

He was staring at me expectantly, and I realized that I hadn't responded to the spoken question. "My name's Hiccup." I managed, taking a couple steps forward so that the light from the few torches around the room would make me more visible. Toothless clung by my side protectively, a typical habit of his whenever we met someone new.

"Ah, the chief's son." The leader spoke out cheerfully. He mimicked my steps, meeting me halfway to the center of the Hall. The others obediently followed behind, not saying a word.

Up close, I could really see how big the man was. He wore an interesting cape of furs, but aside from that his armor was relatively simple. There wasn't much that distinguished him from any other Viking on this village except for the large silver emblem around his neck depicting two swords crossed together – I'm assuming the mark of his tribe. Except for a single long sword hanging from his belt, he didn't give off any other threatening aura. Some of the initial anxiousness began to ease away.

"That would be me. It's a pleasure for us to have you visit our island." I replied cautiously, hoping I didn't say anything rude or provoking. My hand reflexively went to rest on top of Toothless' head like it always did when I got nervous.

He chuckled, running a hand down the dark and tangled hairs of his beard. "The pleasure is all ours. Please, call me Chief Steinn."

I nodded. "Nice to meet you, Chief Steinn."

He grinned, turning to gesture to the silent mass behind him. "These are my men. They're usually more talkative, but the trip here has been long and tiring."

The thought hit me that I was the one keeping them up and preventing them from getting some well-needed rest. I flushed, taking a few steps backwards towards the door with Toothless.

"I'm sorry, I should let you all get some sleep." I mumbled apologetically, ducking my head.

Chief Steinn smiled, waving his hand dismissively. "No worries, it's protocol for us to meet our hosts first." His eyes lit up as a new thought struck him. "Goodness, I forgot to introduce my son! I think you two would get along well. Gunnar? Get out here!"

The crowd of men behind the chief mumbled, shifting aside to make room for the boy.

For some reason, he reminded me of Snotlout. Well-built, a bit short, but walked with a sense of confidence. His dark brown hair was poorly cared for, a tangled mess on top of his head.

He walked forward silently until he was an arm's length away from me. I felt his eyes glance over me, clearly sizing me up and finding my small build harmless. A ghost of a smirk flitted across his face, and I felt a small burst of irritation when I caught it. But before I could think more of it, the smug smile was gone, replaced only with a neutral gaze. He stuck out a dirt-smudged hand.

I felt myself instantly shying away from the hand, but stopped myself. Doing that would only make things worse. I took the hand, trying not to wince at his strong grip.

"Name's Gunnar, as you've heard." His tone was a lot more business-like than his dad's. He released my hand, straightening back up. But before I could give a response, his attention was on Toothless.

"Is this the Night Fury?" I could tell he was trying to sound casual, but I caught the underlying hint of awe in his voice.

I let out a breath, glad to have his piercing gaze directed elsewhere as I scratched Toothless' head affectionately. "The one and only."

I heard Chief Steinn whistle appreciatively from behind. "I didn't say anything because I didn't wish to pry, but what a magnificent creature." The rest of the men murmured quietly, also watching Toothless with wide eyes.

"Is it dangerous?" Gunnar asked, giving Toothless a hard stare.

"'It' is a 'he'. And no, he's not dangerous unless you do something to provoke him." I reassured, pausing to glance down at Toothless. He was watching Gunnar carefully, the wariness still evident in his emerald eyes.

Gunnar smirked. "Doesn't look like that much a fearsome dragon to me." He took a step forward, squaring his shoulders out confidently, one arm outstretched as if hoping to pet the Night Fury.

Toothless let out a quiet growl, quiet enough that I hoped only I heard it. I took a step backwards, Toothless easily following.

"I think we'll let you all sleep, we have the tour of the island tomorrow, after all." I spoke up, leading Toothless further away from Gunnar's outstretched hand and hoping the action looked more casual than avoiding.

Gunnar seemed to notice though, and he scowled, withdrawing his hand.

"He's right," Chief Steinn piped in, "we should all get some rest. See you tomorrow, Hiccup! It was a pleasure to meet you!" He seemed oblivious to the scene in front of him, waving goodnight to us before turning to his men and unfolding another blanket fur.

I couldn't help it – I chanced one glance back towards Gunnar. His scowl was already melting away, replaced with a stone-faced stare than he was directing towards me. He nodded briskly in my direction, a silent goodbye, before turning to help the others unpack.

The Great Hall doors closed heavily behind us, and I took a moment to lean against them wearily. Toothless watched me calmly, as if he already knew the thoughts running through my head.

I sighed, meeting his eyes for a moment before settling for staring at the already darkened village in front of me. "I think that could have gone better, bud."

Toothless' coo only confirmed my thoughts, but there wasn't anything I could do about it now. It was already dark enough that I could barely make out the dim outlines of some of the village homes down the street. Dad was probably waiting.

"Let's go, Toothless." Although his jet-black scales made him practically invisible, I could feel him padding slowly by my side as I carefully made my way through the square, trying my best not to crash into any walls.

Miraculously, I reached my house unscathed, pulling the door open and letting the warm blast of air brush over us before I shut the door, encasing us in a familiar atmosphere. Dad was already seated at the table, shooting me a huge smile the minute I stepped inside. I felt a slight tug at my stomach at how happily he still welcomed me. I didn't deserve it.

I sat down and stared at the contents of my plate – cooked fish and fresh berries. My stomach grumbled in anticipation, and I began to eat when my dad spoke up.

"How were the guests?" He reached for his own fork, although he was still watching me curiously.

I paused, the fork halfway to my mouth as I tried to find the right words. "They were… nice." I finished, my thoughts instantly flashing back to Gunnar and the awkward encounter we've had.

Unfortunately, my dad caught the break in my sentence, raising his eyebrows apprehensively. "Is something wrong?"

There was a slight lull in the conversation as he waited for me to finish chewing the mouthful of fish I'd intentionally heaped generously into my mouth to avoid talking. _Was _something wrong? Things got a bit tense towards the end, but I didn't expect my first meeting with them to start off perfectly.

I finally swallowed, shrugging off the uneasiness settling in my stomach the more I thought about it. "I don't think the chief's son likes me." I confessed, waiting for the scolding that was sure to come. I was the son of our own island's chief; learning to cordially invite and host guests was something I was supposed to excel at. And here I was, already getting one of the members of the new tribe to hate me.

To my surprise, my dad just smiled, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "Who, Gunnar? He seemed like a nice boy. Awfully quiet when I was there, though. What happened?"

I frowned, guilt already tugging at my chest. "I think he wanted to pet Toothless, but… I didn't let him. He was pushing things too quickly." It was all my fault. I was going to jeopardize this entire alliance and mess up things like I always did.

Dad turned his attention back towards his food, not at all concerned. "You're worrying too much, Hiccup. I'm sure you two will get along fine the more you talk."

I didn't reply, too tired and stressed out to argue that I wasn't as sure as he was. The rest of the dinner went silently, and I quickly finished the rest of my food although I didn't have that much of an appetite anymore.

After saying good night, I made my way back upstairs with Toothless, collapsing onto my bed exhaustedly. Toothless was already curled around on his bed, but with the small bit of light from the candle on my desk, I could see his eyes were trained on me.

"Did you like Gunnar, bud?" Toothless always had good intuitions about people, so I was hoping for some insight at least. The Night Fury gave a snort, shaking his head slightly. At least he and I were on the same boat. It wasn't that I didn't like Gunnar at all, I just didn't think we'd get along like my dad imagined.

I sighed. "We'll see what happens tomorrow, I guess." Toothless purred and lowered his head, falling asleep in seconds.

The night seemed to pass in a blur as I lay there, too consumed in my thoughts to focus on relaxing. It wasn't until I noticed the small rays of sunlight starting to peek through my window that I realized I hadn't slept at all.

Toothless was still out cold, not even bothered by my constant tosses and turns through the night. For the first time, I think I was the more excited one to go flying this morning. I needed to take my mind off things, and taking to the skies was the best way to clear my thoughts.

I swept off the blanket furs, not even pausing to shiver when the cold morning breeze that Berk brought swept over me. Only when my prosthetic began to noisily clank against the wooden floors did Toothless' ears perk up, his eyes slowly opening tiredly afterwards. He let out a lazy grumble, closing his eyes again. The action surprised me – Toothless was hardly ever less than excited to go flying in the morning. No, he was the one who always slipped out onto the roof and jumped onto it recklessly, displacing loose tiles in his excitement to get me awake faster.

"What's wrong bud? Don't want to go flying today?" It was subtle, but I caught Toothless' ears twitch at the word 'flying', but he made no other movement except to shift into a more comfortable position. What was with him today?

I plopped onto the ground in front of his stone bed, eyeing him curiously. "Come on, I know you wouldn't turn down flying." A hint of worry tugged at my stomach, and I paused. "You're not sick, are you?"

Toothless finally opened his eyes, turning to glare at me indignantly with a huff, almost offended that I would assume that he could be sick. The little sliver of worry dissipated, and I relaxed. "Really? So you're just being a lazy dragon? That's even worse."

Toothless didn't seem to care, closing his eyes again and resting his head back onto his paws with a purr. I felt a small grin grow on my face – two could play at this game. I heaved myself back onto my feet, stretching out my muscles before walking towards the door.

"Guess I'll have to find another dragon to fly with this morning." I called over my shoulder, resisting the urge to grin wider and ruin my act when Toothless opened one eye and stared at me in disbelief.

I pulled the door open, stopping right before the room led to the hallway. "And then I guess that means that dragon's gonna get all the fish that would have been for you downstairs."

Toothless grumbled and instantly got up, stretching briefly before padding out before me into the hall. I grinned fully and scratched him behind the ears as he passed by, following behind. We made our way downstairs, where I spotted my dad shrugging on his fur cloak as he walked towards the doorway.

He smiled when he noticed me at the bottom of the footsteps, one hand on the door and the other still adjusting his cloak.

"Morning, son! Are you up this early because you wanted to go flying?" I nodded. He sighed, clearly knowing better than to argue against it anymore, to my relief. "Be careful, you hear?" Another nod.

"Are you off to go talk to the Irenics?" I asked, silently cursing myself for asking such an obvious question. Where else would he be going?

If he thought it was a dumb question, he didn't give any indication of it, merely nodding in response. "I'm going to serve them breakfast in the Hall and then start giving them a tour of the island. I was wondering if you could take Gunnar to introduce him to the other teens after breakfast."

At the mention of Gunnar, the stress all came piling back down. I really needed to make sure I didn't ruin any chance of Berk forming a friendship with this tribe, and that meant I needed to not get the chief's son's bad side. And right now, the odds weren't looking so bright.

But all I could do was agree and hope for the best. If worst came to worst, I could just apologize and try to patch things up.

My dad smiled again, pulling open the door. "Great. We'll be waiting outside the Great Hall after breakfast. Go there after your flight and take Gunnar to the Academy." And with that note, he stepped outside and let the door shut heavily behind him.

Toothless snorted and happily trudged towards the basket of fish, hungrily devouring the entirety of its contents. I settled for waiting by the door, too occupied to have an appetite. I didn't need to wait long though, because Toothless finished in record time and was instantly by the door with me, nudging at my side insistently with renewed energy.

I didn't need any more prompting. I opened the door and let Toothless out before stepping outside and hopping onto his back smoothly. The prosthetic attached to the saddle in seconds and we were off the ground without another word.

My nerves were already relaxing the higher up we went, getting more comfortable as the sensation of flying took over. Thankfully, Toothless seemed fine with me just steering us across the waters instead of performing the high-adrenaline tricks we'd grown fond of. And for an hour, that's what we did – simply smooth gliding over the powerful ocean waves accompanied only by the wind and clouds.

I only had a few minutes before I needed to meet my dad outside the Hall, and my thoughts were still as scattered as they were since last night. Getting used to being back, trying to get on Gunnar's good side, dealing with dad and the Frenetics after the Irenics left… Gods.

Toothless, seeming to sense my anxious energy, let out a coo to grab my attention. I blinked out of my daze and focused back on our surroundings. The morning sun was the thing that instantly caught my eye – I'd loved watching the sun break the horizon the most when we went on morning flights. Today, the lights were tinged pink and orange, blazing brilliantly as it made its way past the horizon and high towards the clouds above.

The ball of worry in my chest loosened, and I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I was fine. As long as I had Toothless by my side, I could survive all this.

"Thanks, bud." Toothless purred, happy at the response. "Let's get back towards dad and the others."

I spotted the small mass of people gathered outside the Great Hall and flew towards it, not letting nerves get the best of me this time. We landed just in front of them, gently enough that we didn't send dust flying everywhere.

My dad nodded, pleased at my appearance. "There you are. I'm sure I can trust you to show Gunnar around after introducing him to the teens?"

I nodded, warily eyeing the odd looks the Irenics were giving me. It hit me that they were just unused to seeing people ride dragons so easily without trying to chop its head off. Chief Steinn was at the head of the group, eyes shining in wonder.

"The Night Fury is even more incredible when I can see him properly. The way you ride him is amazing as well." I felt my cheeks heat up, slightly embarrassed at the heaps of praise being thrown at me.

Gunnar was at the chief's side, watching me quietly. He looked indifferent, but I noticed the impressed glint in his eyes.

"Thank you, it's nothing really." I replied politely, pointedly avoiding the gawking stares the rest of the tribe was directing at me. I nodded towards Gunnar. "Ready to go?"

He blinked once, uncrossing his arms and nodding. I took the lead, breaking away from the crowd after sharing goodbyes with my dad and the Irenics. He followed by my side silently, and I was considering trying to make conversation when he suddenly spoke up.

"How did you meet your dragon?"

"Toothless." I responded instantly.

He turned to stare at me incredulously. "What?"

"His name's Toothless." I explained, grinning slightly.

Gunnar's walking slowed considerably, turning to stare at Toothless. Toothless was clearly already used to this kind of reaction because he reflexively opened his mouth, revealing his gummy smile.

Had Gunnar's eyebrows gone any higher, they might have disappeared off his forehead. "Night Furies don't have teeth?"

Toothless rolled his eyes, letting his retractable teeth fall into place, offering a toothy grin.

This time Gunnar actually came to a stop, at a loss for words. "I never knew dragon teeth could do that."

I stopped with him, reaching up to pet Toothless' head affectionately. "As far as I know, he's the only dragon that can."

I was glad to see the curiosity in his eyes; maybe we'd actually get along after all. I gestured him back into walking towards the Academy, and it wasn't long before we could hear the yelling and roars that I'd grown used to hearing whenever I drew near the Arena.

Gunnar, however, was unaccustomed to such piercing shrieks and hesitated, throwing me a wary look. I shrugged, knowing it was easier to show him rather than explain. To his credit, Gunnar didn't run off, and continued to follow, albeit at a more reluctant pace.

Toothless didn't pause in his walking, immediately bounding into the Arena to greet the others. I followed behind, making sure that Gunnar was still behind me. Thankfully, the teens noticed the new guest and immediately settled down towards the ground, landing their dragons rather haphazardly in their haste to do so.

Snotlout was the first to approach Gunnar, immediately reaching out a hand in greeting. "Name's Snotlout, but you can call me The Greatest Dragon Rider in the World." Gunnar shook his hand silently, not even cracking a smile. Snotlout's smile faltered slightly, but nonetheless he nodded and stepped back to join the other teens.

Clearly no one else felt like introducing themselves next except for Astrid, who took a step forward and echoed Snotlout in sticking out a hand. Gunnar maintained his stone-faced demeanor, although he looked a bit more interested in talking to Astrid than Snotlout.

"I'm Astrid. The twins over there are Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and that's Fishlegs." Gunnar traced her words to each respective teen, nodding in affirmation.

"Name's Gunnar," he replied easily, straightening up and eyeing them all. Of course, he was more interested in watching the mass of dragons eagerly interacting behind the teens. "Are those all yours?"

Astrid followed his gaze and nodded, speaking curtly yet politely. "The blue one's mine, her name's Stormfly. The two-headed dragon is the twins', their names are Barf and Belch." Gunnar cracked a grin at the Zippleback's name. "The big red dragon is Snotlout's, her name's Hookfang. And that one is Fishlegs', her name is Meatlug."

I was thankful that Astrid was so much easier at explaining things than I was. She caught my eye and grinned, a silent greeting. Gunnar's voice suddenly cut through my thoughts, startling both of us as we whipped our heads in his direction.

"Can I try riding one?" He was already taking small steps in their direction, and I wasn't sure how to react. How was I supposed to say no nicely? I already got on his bad side doing that last night.

"I think we should get you acquainted with them first, it makes riding them a lot easier." I advised, hoping he wouldn't take offense from it.

Of course, luck was never on my side because he frowned, looking at me in annoyance. "Come on, they look tame enough. I'm sure I can ride one no problem."

Astrid pursed her lips, about to respond when Gunnar spoke up again, cutting off whatever she was about to say.

"I want to ride the Night Fury."

Astrid and the others looked at me, clearly baffled at his straightforward attitude. But Snotlout quickly cleared his throat and replied, "Only Hiccup can ride Toothless. With his foot at all, he's the only one that can work Toothless' tailfin."

Gunnar turned his irritated gaze towards me, although his expression was mixed with confusion now too. "Work his tailfin?"

"He's missing his left tailfin. Toothless, come here bud!" Toothless bounded over instantly, happily licking my cheek before settling by my side. I pointed at the mechanical tailfin I'd constructed in its place, and Gunnar's eyes widened in surprise for the second time. "My foot connects to the saddle and the pedal controls his tailfin and flight maneuvers."

The other dragons had tired themselves out, quickly making their way to plop next to their riders in exhaustion. Gunnar eyed them with mild interest, darting back and forth between the teens and Toothless.

I decided to finally ask, "Do you want to try touching Toothless?" Gunnar turned towards me, surprised. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded.

I stepped back to give the two some room, gesturing Toothless forward. He didn't look happy about it, but Toothless quietly leaned his head forward, waiting. Gunnar paused, looking as if the Night Fury would bit off his hand should he get too close.

"He won't hurt you, I promise." I reassured him, glancing over his shoulder to look at the others apologetically. They looked uncomfortable, but nodded in understanding.

Gunnar finally reached forward and laid his hand on top of Toothless' forehead. The instant his hand met the scales, he let out a breath, eyes shining with a mix of adrenaline and wonder. Toothless thankfully remained where he was until Gunnar withdrew his hand, promptly making his way to lie next to Stormfly afterwards.

"It's important that we start slow when getting to know dragons, it makes things a lot smoother when you actually start to ride one." I re-explained, and to my relief Gunnar nodded in agreement, looking satisfied with his progress.

Fishlegs finally spoke up, "Do you have dragons near your island?"

Gunnar shook his head, physically looking more relaxed and comfortable after touching Toothless. "Not many pass by our island, but we've seen some Monstrous Nightmares and Deadly Nadders fly over."

Fishlegs nodded thoughtfully, not bothering to continue the conversation as he focused back on scratching Meatlug behind the ears. The Gronckle purred contently, rolling onto her side in her bliss.

I felt Gunnar staring back at me, and I forced myself to meet his gaze instead of ignoring it. I watched him questioningly until he spoke.

"Sorry, I was just wondering how you lost your foot." He looked slightly embarrassed to be asking such a personal question, but I didn't mind. The twins, who had been looking extremely bored for the entirety of the conversation, perked up at the question and immediately jumped in.

"He lost it killing this huge dragon the size of our island!" Tuffnut exclaimed excitedly. Gunnar creased his eyebrows, doubt shadowing his eyes as he looked back at me.

"It's true! He and Toothless blew up the dragon and he lost his foot in the explosion." Ruffnut said, eyes lighting up at the mention of explosions. The doubt didn't clear from Gunnar's eyes.

Snotlout grinned, crossing his arms. "Yeah, we couldn't believe it either. Who could've thought Hiccup would pull something like that?"

"Especially since it was Hiccup." Tuffnut added.

"Gee, thanks guys." I retorted dryly.

Astrid cracked a smile, and the fact that they were telling the truth finally seemed to register on Gunnar's face. He looked at me, slightly impressed. "That's pretty cool. Does it hurt?"

"What, my leg? It was pretty sore in the beginning, but I've gotten used to it."

Gunnar smiled, scratching his head casually. "Makes for a cool battle scar, I bet. Wouldn't be a battle scar without a little pain."

* * *

"_Stop, no more." I hated that I was begging, but the words came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them._

_Erland tilted his head in amusement, the bloodied whip still hanging leisurely in his hand. "What's wrong, boy? Can't handle it anymore?"_

_He took a step forward and I immediately countered by scrambling back, ignoring the flashes of pain running up my back for doing so. My hand slipped on a patch of blood on the ground and tumbled back onto my side, stifling a groan. _

_Erland stepped in front of where I lay, crouching down until he was hovering over me. He grinned mockingly, adopting an almost father-like tone. _

"_Don't worry, it'll be over soon. I'm just teaching you a lesson. You can't learn without a little pain, boy. Nothing's fun if everything was painless."_

* * *

"Hiccup?"

Astrid's voice jerked me out of my thoughts and I blinked, shaking my head before locating Astrid, who was staring at me worriedly.

"Sorry, I missed what you said." I responded automatically, flushing at their concerned expressions.

Astrid didn't look happy about having to say it again, but she repeated herself. "Gunnar wanted to know if really hurts as much as he's heard it does when you lose a limb." The other teens shifted uncomfortably, but Gunnar simply stared at me curiously, waiting for my answer.

I sighed, unsure if I could really put into words what it was like. I'd been knocked out when I lost my foot, although that didn't mean I got off pain-free. "It does hurt, especially when you get phantom pains. But over the years it doesn't bother you as much."

Gunnar nodded, apparently satisfied by the information before slinging an arm over my shoulder casually. I winced, partly from surprise and partly because I still wasn't used to such open contact. He either didn't notice or didn't care. "You're a real trooper, Hiccup. A lot of people on my island complain for years on end about the pain of losing a limb, but you're the toughest out of all of them. Didn't think you were one to be so tough against pain."

He didn't know the half of it.

I sighed, finding myself repeating the words I'd said once months ago. "Yup. Pain, love it."


End file.
